


You make the world bright

by Aroomie



Series: Witcher Fic's [10]
Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blind Character, Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon Ships It, Emotionally Constipated Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Fluff and Smut, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia Has Feelings, Good Parent Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Good Parent Jaskier | Dandelion, Hurt Jaskier | Dandelion, Hurt/Comfort, Jaskier | Dandelion & Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg Friendship, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg, Sad Jaskier | Dandelion, Spoilers, Tags Are Hard, Tags Contain Spoilers, Tags May Change, Witcher Jaskier | Dandelion, Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg Ships It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:21:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25479103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aroomie/pseuds/Aroomie
Summary: "Come, little snake," Julian remembers feeling safe. The low thrum of the voice hinting at something in the back of his mind from when he was a babe.OR~~!!The author still sucks at tagging and writing summaries without giving away spoilers (!!!) and wishes you'll read!!
Relationships: Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon & Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon & Jaskier | Dandelion, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion, Jaskier | Dandelion & Letho z Gulety | Letho of Gulet
Series: Witcher Fic's [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1852585
Comments: 132
Kudos: 488





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Soooooo... This happened. lol.

Julian didn't remember much about his childhood. He remembered the trees, how bright they were. He remembers flower, how buttercups were just _so_ yellow. He remembers staring at the water of a river, the bubbling ripple of the stream always making him smile, the way the sun shone off the surface. He remembered all the colors, the way things looked, the crimson color of the blood pouring from the neck of the woman that bore him. He remembers the voice of the bandits, the sneer in their voice about her being a good for nothing elven whore.

Julian remembers staying hidden under the bed, watching as the light fled from her eyes, remembers watching the armored boots stomp about in search of him. Held his hands over his mouth to not make a sound. He waited two days before climbing out from under the bed, the color slowly fading from his world as pain behind his eyes began. 

He remembers waiting. The smell of the woman drawing the attention of other creatures wanting to feast on her body, but the door was barred tight from the outside. He remembers sitting in the middle of the floor, staring at the woman as she slowly rotted, the scratching outside soon stopping after three days.

Julian remembers the door bursting open by magic, his eyes wide as he watched the large figure enter the room, sword crested with blood that spattered across the figures face. Julian remembers being afraid, uncertain what was going to happen, but the large figure knelt before him and offered the barest hint of a smile and extended an equally large hand.

"Come, little snake," Julian remembers feeling safe. The low thrum of the voice hinting at something in the back of his mind from when he was a babe. 

One arm easily scooped him up and held him close. The safe feeling was short-lived, unfortunately, the man who saved him brought him to a rather large manor and left. He could hear screaming, something about the owner of the home owing the man a debt, he assured Julian he was safe. He was wrong.

~~~~

Julian went days without food, not of his desire, meals withheld if he acted as a child should. Scolded from questions asked out of curiosity. Stared at like an abomination. 

After a year, the abuse started. Little things at first, slaps on the wrist, hard hand on his butt after being bent over a knee. Soon it turned into knives against his arm and a newly purchased whip against his back and chest. 

Julian would go to bed bloody and crying, wishing he would be saved again, taken away from this life. One day he found an unsupervised knife in the kitchen and snatched it up quickly, digging the blade into his wrist and slicing. 

The door of the kitchen burst open and that same man who saved Julian from the creatures stared at him in horror. Strong hands wrapped a cloth around the bleeding, as one arm came around and scooped the boy up. 

Julian felt safe again.

~~~~

Julian remembers the pain. Two weeks after the large man picked him up, his arm stitched and on the mend, everything hurt. It felt as if someone was ripping his body apart and trying to put it back together like a puzzle, the pain resonating behind his eyes making his vision blur. 

The man stayed with him, whispering soft encouragements and words of love. Wiping sweat from his body and forcing food and drink into his belly. Three weeks of excruciating pain slowly left, ebbing away, and Julian wept for hours. The last thing he saw, the relived smile of the large muscled man he had been traveling with, the bright gold of his eyes.

~~~~

Julian absently traced his fingers across the scar decorating his arm, staring blankly ahead of him, six years and it hasn't changed. The sound of rustling bushes to his side made his head turn.

"Julian, what are you doing?" The low growling voice always made him smile, he had always found it soothing.

"Remember the first time I saw a buttercup? So tiny." The man chuckled softly, shaking his head.

"You were small too, still are." Julian gasped loudly.

"I am not! I'm a big boy!" The man chuckled again.

"My mistake. What would my big boy like to do now?" There was a long pause, Julian's lips pursed in thought.

"I wanna learn how to play the lute." The man's eyes snapped to the boy, watching as he hummed happily and kicked his feet. "Can I, papa?" 

The boy turned bright eyes in his direction, wearing the most vibrant smile he's ever seen. 

"I promise to keep up with my training when I'm not practicing!" The man stared for a long while before a long-suffering sigh left him and a small smile graced his lips. Walking over to the boy, he sat down next to him and pulled him into his lap.

"Alright, little snake. We'll get you signed up with the best teachers, yeah?" Julian nodded enthusiastically hard, smiling more.

"Yeah!" The man laughed softly, sighing quietly as he pressed a gentle kiss to the boy's hair.

~~~~

"I'm sorry, Sir, but he can't." The man growled at the administrator.

"So you say, but you have not given proper reason." Julian held onto the man's hand tightly.

"Given his… Circumstances, I don't believe it will be a proper fit. We teach only the best here at Oxenfurt." The man rolled his eyes, growling.

"Money is money, regardless of where it comes from." There was a gasp.

"Sir, you would need to make constant deposits for his continued education, extra for lodgings, food-"

"Then I send all the coin I make." There was a long-suffering silence before the administrator sighed once again.

"Alright, alright! You win, Master Witcher. We have one slot left in our upcoming semester, he can start then." The man, Witcher, smiles some and looked down at Julian, gently jostling the boy's hand in his and made the boy giggle.

"There is a matter of his sight…" The Witcher looked at the Administrator, a small snarl on his lips. "H-he will need a chaperon. Someone t-to help him move about. It will add a small amount on to the sum of his education." 

"Hmmm…" The Witcher glanced at the boy who was tilting his head this way and that. "Alright." 

The boy smiled up at his voice before resuming his head tilting, a small chuckle leaving the Witcher.

"I-I assume you are his guardian?" A nod. "Very well… We will need your name and a way to contact you if something should happen." 

There was a small grunt, and the Witcher scribbled his name down on a fancy looking parchment.

"Easiest is by way of a sorceress, whatever way she sends messages is fine. They only need a name to send one." The Witcher finished writing his name then knelt next to Julian, smiling at the boy as he brought a hand up to cup his cheek with one large hand. 

"You'll be here from now on until you are ready to set out on your own, alright?" Julian nodded happily. "I will come to visit whenever I am nearby, be sure to keep up your training." Julian rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Daaaa~d." The Witcher chuckled and gently patted his cheek before standing, hauling the boy's bag from his shoulder and offering it to the administrators assistant when the woman approached, a small smile on her lips when Julian's hand was passed into hers. 

"Hello, Julian. My name is Melyn, lets get you settled in, yeah?" Julian bounced on his toes as he nodded quickly, giving a wave to the Witcher as he was lead by the young woman.

"He refers to you as his father?" The Witcher looked at the admin, giving a short nod.

"Had him with me since his seventh winter." The man whistled.

"Long time for a child to be with a Witcher. That is no life for a child." The Witcher growled.

"No better then the humans I left him with. One's that abused and broke his spirit, marked his body with knives and whips." The Witcher looked at the man. "A child of six winters trying to kill himself." The man balanced at the Witcher's words, giving a firm nod.

"I'm sorry the poor lad had to go through that… You seem to think fondly of him as he does you, you seem to treat him as your own." The Witcher grunted, turning his gaze back to where Julian disappeared to. How little the man knew how right he was. 

"How true." The Witcher cast a glance at the man one last time before fishing through his pockets and pulling out a coin purse and throwing it at him. 

"There should be enough in there to get him started, I will return in six months, maybe less, to make another deposit." The administrator gave a small nod, taking the coin purse and feeling the amount within, a small smile on his lips.

"We will be eagerly awaiting your visit, Letho of Gulet."


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So, oh great Witcher of mine. Where are we going first?" Jaskier smiled as he stared straight ahead even though he was speaking to Letho. The Witcher hummed.
> 
> "I'm thinking of Kear Morhen. None of the other Witcher's will be there by the time we arrive save for Vesemir, the oldest surviving of us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't stop making proud Papa!Letho... And I regret nothing!!!

Julian remembers the first time he cried, really cried. Two years after he was left at school, he had an older student assigned to him, Valdo Marx, not as a baby sitter but someone to help him take notes and write down his music. When projects came to write your own music, Valdo went first and the tune he played was one he had helped Julian get onto paper.

Julian didn't know how to process the emotions he was feeling before suddenly he was crumpled on the floor and sobbing so hard he couldn't breathe. Very few believed Valdo stole the song, many of the students already whispering about the blind boy and how stupid it was that he was even there. Melyn, having grown fond of the boy, stayed with him till his tears dried and offered him an idea.

"How about we teach you to write, hmm?" Julian gave her a look of 'I'm fracking blind, are you shitting me?' and she giggled, pulling out a parchment from her bag and put it in his hands.

"Feel. This parchment is thicker, more durable." Julian traced his fingers across the page, his nose scrunching. 

"Feels funny." Melyn giggled again and nodded.

"I suppose it does, but Julian, thicker paper means harder press when writing." As if to prove her point, Melyn grabbed a quill and wrote the boy's name, hard enough to make the parchment dent inward and she took his fingers and traced them across the letters. "See? Your name."

Julian gasped and smiled widely, tracing the letters and let out a soft giggle before his face scrunched up. He turned to look at where he last heard the woman's voice.

"I want to change my name! All great bards have a bard name!" Melyn smiled at him, giving a nod.

"And what shall our mighty bard be called?" She ran her fingers through his hair as he thought about it more, his nose scrunched as he thought. It didn't take long before he smiles widely.

"Jaskier!" Melyn blinked.

"Jaskier?" He nodded enthusiastically.

"It's dandelion... Or Buttercup, both work. They have the color most like buttercups!" He smiled even more as he traced the paper with his fingers. "I like buttercups."

Melyn giggled again and spent the next hour writing out letters, numbers, and shapes for Julian. The boy absorbed them like a sponge and within the following month, he presented his dad with a letter written just for him. Letho felt like he might cry as he stared down at the, albeit messy, writing of his boy. 

~~~~

Years ticked by and Julian only got better, no longer needing someone to guide him around the school. Granted he didn't need one after the first year, but Letho recommended he keep one for many reasons. Officially going by Jaskier now, save for his father, the bard slowly turned from the boy to laugh at to the one to admire. 

His hearing was exceptional, training every day after music practice to identify where sounds were coming from, how far away they were. The subtlest of wind changes against his skin to tell where a block or gap was, smells to find herbs he enjoyed in his tea's or general collecting for when his father visits. Even his writing improved, placing a book in his lap with a quill in hand, he would trace a finger just above the tip to know he was writing proper, and in a straight line.

Before anyone knew it, he was graduating. Letho marked the date in his mind and made sure to get there just in time to watch his son receive his diplomas. Give it to his boy to graduate not only top of not one but every single class the school had to offer. Letho never knew pride in someone else could feel so good until he watched his son walk without assistance to get his papers. Uncaring of the silence, Letho placed his thumb and forefinger in his mouth and blew a sharp whistle, everyone shot a glare in his direction but Jaskier, he smiled so bright Letho just didn't care. 

After the main part of the ceremony was over, Letho found Jaskier talking with Melyn and a large grin appeared on his face. "Hey, bard. I'm looking for my kid, have you seen him around here?" 

Jaskier spun around and laughed loudly. "Dad!" Letho grinned as he pulled Jaskier into his arms and hugged the boy tight, earning a squeak from him.

"So, happy to be free?" Letho teased and Jaskier rolled his eyes, a large smile on his lips. 

"Free? What are you talking about, old man? I'm about to set off on this perfect adventure, with my father! Can you imagine? He'll be hovering over me and fawning, it's going to be insufferable." Letho laughed, slinging his arm across Jaskier's shoulders and keeping him close as Melyn giggled at their antics. 

"Shut up, kid." Jaskier laughed still, hugging Letho's arm to him as he leaned into the strong figure of the hulking Witcher. 

"You two are the strangest, and yet most adorable, parent-child relation I have ever seen," Melyn spoke with mirth and both Letho and Jaskier preened at the comment. The festivities went on for a couple more hours, but Jaskier took that time to pack up his room, Melyn had already agreed to keep what he couldn't take with him. Storing everything into three large chests, one for clothing, one for his books, and the last for all the trinkets and things Letho had brought him over the years.

Once his affairs were settled, Melyn taking the chests to her home for safekeeping and Jaskier publicly embarrassing Valdo, Jaskier bid his farewell to teachers and other students as he walked with Letho. The Witcher was proud of his boy, able to walk without assistance, perhaps a little slow on corners or an upturn of a road, but that will come with practice. 

"So, oh great Witcher of mine. Where are we going first?" Jaskier smiled as he stared straight ahead even though he was speaking to Letho. The Witcher hummed.

"I'm thinking of Kear Morhen. None of the other Witcher's will be there by the time we arrive save for Vesemir, the oldest surviving of us." Jaskier tilted his head, making a noise. "It has been a time coming, but I want to have him look you over. See what you inherited, perhaps he can give more information about your eyes as well." 

Jaskier smiled and gave a nod. "Alright! I've heard stories about Kear Morhen, I'm sad I won't be able to truly appreciate it!" 

Letho rolled his eyes fondly, smiling as he leads Jaskier to the stables just outside the city. Jaskier waited patiently as Letho collected his horse, but was surprised when he heard more than one set of hoofs clopping towards him. 

"Two?" He stared in the direction of the noise and was greeted with an appreciative thump of horse nose on his shoulder making him smile as he reached up and pet along the snout. 

"Yes. It's a long trip, and even though I know you can walk on your own, I figured a little help wouldn't hurt." Jaskier gasped and smiled wide.

"It's mine!?" Letho laughed.

"Yes, idiot. Made sure to get a good affectionate one for you, he'll bite other people's hands off though." Jaskier crooned at the horse, smiling wide. "He already knows you by scent, he'll be able to find you if you get lost too. Bought him when he was just a colt, kept giving him things that smelled of you, and took my time training him to help if you find you're having an issue."

Jaskier was smiling so wide his cheeks began to hurt, petting the horses' head affectionately. "Does he have a name?" 

Letho snorted, smiling at Jaskier. "Dante. Loving yet will kill you in a heartbeat." 

Jaskier laughed and ran his hands across the stallion's neck, finding the saddle and reigns, he hoists himself up onto the horse and smiles as Letho goes about fixing a couple of the straps and fastening their bags better before hoisting up onto his own horse. 

"Shall we?" Jaskier nodded hard, smiling so wide still that his face was actually hurting.

"Adventure awaits!" He points forwards and Letho rolls his eyes with a shake of his head, reaching over and grabbing the horse's reigns and leading him in the opposite direction in which they are pointed. 

"Relax, little snake." Jaskier was practically vibrating in his seat, holding tight to Dante's reigns, Letho taking the lead as the head down the road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pointing this out:: 
> 
> From Wiki on Jaskier's name: The Polish word jaskier actually refers to the Buttercup flower (Ranunculus).
> 
> Next up:: 
> 
> Vesemir makes an appearance! Kear Morhen shenanigans ensue.


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As they approached the fortress, Jaskier was vibrating in Dante's saddle and it wasn't from good jitters, he was getting nervous. Letho glanced at him and reached over, gently grasping his hand and squeezing.
> 
> "It's going to be fine, little snake."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *posts this while half asleep* @v@ It's here!

It took them almost a month to get to Kear Morhen, stop[ing more than normal for a Witcher on the path at Letho's insistence due to Jaskier not being accustom to being on the road for so long, not to mention taking advantage of training experience for the young bard. On their final night before scaling the mountain path for the fortress, Jaskier had caught a rabbit, he was so happy and Letho couldn't have been more proud. 

As they approached the fortress, Jaskier was vibrating in Dante's saddle and it wasn't from good jitters, he was getting nervous. Letho glanced at him and reached over, gently grasping his hand and squeezing.

"It's going to be fine, little snake." Jaskier smiled some, looking in Letho's direction and giving a small nod, gripping the reigns tightly. Jaskier could tell they were at the gate of Kear Morhen by the way the winds swooped in a circular pattern, hitting the walls and bending back against his face. 

"Who's that?!" Jaskier jumped at the new voice, his lips pressing into a frown, and Letho patted his shoulder gently before calling back.

"Letho of Gulet, School of the Viper! I'm here to see Vesemir, my business is of a personal nature!" Letho stared at the wall, his eyes dancing across the stone structure then darted to the gate as it opened. Letho took hold of Jaskier's mounts reigns and lead them inside, dismounting first and gently patting Jaskier's leg to let him know to stay up on his mount. 

"What pray tell does a Viper have business with me?" Letho watched as an older Witcher came into view and dipped his head in a bow, watching as the old Witcher approached. 

"I have a…" Letho trailed off and sighed. "This is a little difficult to explain." Letho looked back as Jaskier, and the old Witcher followed his gaze, brow lifted. 

"You brought a human to Kear Morhen? Is there something wrong with your head, Viper?" Letho laughed and took a step back to stand next to Jaskier, reaching up and gently patting his leg.

"Take off the ring, little snake. Please." Jaskier gnawed his lower lip gently but nodded, taking off a silver ring from his thumb and looked up to where he heard the voice he didn't know. The old Witcher sucked in a breath as vibrant _blue_ cat pupiled eyes stared at him. 

"Interesting… Who is he?" The old Witcher looked at Letho as the Viper gently tugged on Jaskier's leg and helped him dismount. Letho turned his gaze to the old Witcher, smiling ever so slightly.

"My son." The old Witcher laughed.

"Bull shit. You know Witcher's are infertile." Letho sighed heavily, his arm draped across Jaskier's shoulders, and walked back to stand closer to the old Witcher.

"His mother was an elf or at least half-elf." The old Witcher lifted his brow. "She was… Charming. She took care of me after a difficult hunt, I was gravely wounded and she took care of me." Letho sighed quietly and Jaskier wrapped one arm around him. "She had been experimenting with a multitude of herbs, potions, other combinations. She desperately wanted a child, but everyone thought of her as a witch, let alone seeing her as inhuman because of her elven blood. She told me she could… Enhance my… ahem…" He glanced at Jaskier as the boy made a face and stuck out his tongue, making Letho laugh. "I drank a potion, bedded her, and when I found her again after a year, she introduced me to my son, Julian." 

Letho motioned his hand towards Jaskier in a "tada" fashion. The old Witcher's mouth was hanging open, very obvious in his surprise as he took in Jaskier. The boy was nervous, fiddling with his fingers before offering a small smile, sticking out a hand just off to the side of the old Witcher.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." The old Witcher stared at the hand, brow lifted, and reached out to take it. Watching as Jaskier's nose scrunched up when his arm was pulled to the proper angle. 

"Vesemir, school of the Wolf." Vesemir's eyes gave Jaskier a once over. "What's wrong with your sight, boy?" 

Jaskier smiled nervously. "I'm blind, sir. Have been since I was seven winters."

Vesemir looked at Letho and the Viper nodded, Vesemir's brow pinched as he looked back at Jaskier. Curious. 

"You are elf born with Witcher blood, yet have no sight." Vesemir looked at Letho. "How did that happen?"

Letho shook his head, gently squeezing Jaskier's shoulder. "He… Just after his name day, he had a pain behind his eyes that grew more intense by the way. After a week, he was a mess." Letho stared at Vesemir. "Just like the trials." 

Vesemir sucked in a breath, looking at Jaskier again. Taking in the bard, he could see now the differences between him and a normal human, he was leaner but muscled, his eyes sharp and intense not only because of his Witcher blood but because of the elven. His features were sharp, handsome but also beautiful. Vesemir grunted quietly, looking to Letho. 

"What do you need my help for?" Letho made a noise.

"Help me see what sort of mutations passed onto him, see if we can't help his sight somehow… Maybe train him a little." Vesemir's brow shot up into his hairline.

"Seriously? The boy is blind! How exactly am I to train a blind man?" Jaskier rolled his eyes but smiled, tilting his head to look up at Letho. 

"We are staying?" Letho looked at Jaskier then at Vesemir for confirmation, the old Witcher nodded, and Letho looked back at Jaskier.

"Yes, we are staying. Why don't you get the horses settled?" Letho reached back and grabbed the reins of both horses and placed them in Jaskier's hand. "Stables are off to the left, first building you find." 

Jaskier nodded and walked away from them, Vesemir looked like he was about to protest, but Letho held up his hand and motioned for the old Witcher to watch. Both Witcher's watched as Jaskier walked ten paces before pausing, putting both reigns in his hand and reached out, feeling the air. He walked closer to the stables and smiled when his fingers made contact with the wood, careful fingers sliding across the surface to find the handle and pushed the door open. Vesemir laughed softly as Dante shoved Jaskier's shoulder, making the bard yelp, and shook his head some.

"Alright, Viper. Point proved. We can see about training him with daggers maybe. Something close and person so he can hear an attack." Vesemir nodded, more to himself than anything, and Letho smiled. "I will need samples of his blood to determine what mutagens passed on, and maybe with that, we can see about his eyesight." 

Letho nodded. The two Witcher's joined Jaskier in the stables but didn't offer assistance, Jaskier skipped about the stalls, already familiar with the space, and went about removing saddles and bridles. When he declared himself done, he walked over to the stable doors and paused, reaching out to tap a finger against Letho's chest and smiled.

"I can't find fresh hay, and I'm not sure how to get them water… but they are set up with what I can do." Letho smiled and gave a nod. 

"I can take care of the rest, Vesemir would like to examine your blood. If that's okay?" Jaskier tilted his head some and made a face. "We need to know more about your blood, little snake." 

Jaskier finally nodded after a moment, huffing, but smiled. 

"Alright, examine away!" Vesemir laughed, shaking his head some and reached out, taking Jaskier's wrist in hand.

"Come with me, Julian." Jaskier smiled and gave a nod, giving his father a glance before letting himself be lead. Letho stayed and watches as Vesemir only held loosely onto Jaskier's wrist, talking the boy through the turns and steps the lead up to the main hall. Only when they disappeared did he finally move to take care of the horse's food and water. He'll show Jaskier how where to find the things later.

~~~~

It took a week before Vesemir could confirm what mutations were passed down to Jaskier. Increased hearing and smell, his eyes should have been enhanced for sight but there was something else that caused the blindness, he couldn't pinpoint what. Jaskier also had some increased strength, not largely like normal Witchers but enough to be beneficial. 

The old Witcher spent hours of his day reading books and testing combinations of potions, Jaskier often sat with him to just talk and Vesemir found himself growing fonder and fonder with the boy. He was determined to find a solution for his sight, as far as he could tell, there should be no reason why he can't see. 

Eventually, Jaskier had taken to exploring on his own or training with Letho and Vesemir. The old Witcher impressed at how quick the bard had taken to training, favoring daggers even though Vesemir insisted on a more rounded training routine with swords and the like. 

Despite not being able to find anything useful regarding Jaskier's sight, the bard seemed unaffected whenever Vesemir came up empty-handed, while Letho was disappointed he was unable to help his son. One night, after Jaskier had gone to bed, Vesemir and Letho stayed in the main hall drinking.

"He's a rather talented young man, your son." Letho smiled at the praise and nodded.

"He is. He also graduated from the seven arts in Oxenfurt." Vesemir whistled quietly.

"Not an easy task from what I hear." Letho nodded again, taking a swallow of his drink.

"I'm just… Disappointed we can't find anything for his sight…" Vesemir sighed softly.

'Perhaps it needs a sorceress touch." Letho sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.

"Perhaps. Good luck finding one that will do it that won't charge an arm and leg." Vesemir laughed, giving a nod. 

"Hmmm." They lapsed into silence, sharing the odd off comment about the path or a past hunt. Then Vesemir asked what Letho's plans were for the winter.

"You are most welcome to stay here, of course. You and your boy both." Letho gave a small nod, bowing his head.

"Thank you, Vesemir. I think I will spend them with Julian, where ever he winds up. He needs at least a year before he will know how to properly navigate the path without another with him to assist." Letho snorts. "Not to mention he can use the blind card if he truly needs." 

Vesemir laughed, giving a nod. "Where ever the path may take you, Letho, Kear Morhen's gates will always be open to you."

The two Witcher's knocked their glasses together and finished their drinks, Letho stands as he wipes his lips with the side of his hand. 

"Thank you, Vesemir. Truly. Julian and I will stay for another week, maybe two. I want to be back down the mountain before your wolves show up." Vesemir's brow lifted. "I have nothing against them, of course, but I do not wish to expose Julian to more than what he needs right now. He must get used to life on the path before being thrown into a pack of Witcher's." 

Vesemir laughed again, nodding his head. "A fair point. We shall run your boy ragged with training until you leave then, make sure he is prepared for his journey."

Letho smirked and the two men clapped shoulders before separating for the evening. Letho went to Jaskier's room, checking in on his boy, and found the bard thrashing in his sleep. A small frown tugged at Letho's lips and he entered the room, quickly shedding his boots and climbing onto the bed, Jaskier immediately wrapped around him still fast asleep, and Letho gathered him close and buried his nose into his son's hair.

He stayed with him even when the thrashing stopped, holding him close as he drifted to sleep.


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bright green eyes filled with tears stared up at him and Letho suddenly remembered when Jaskier held onto him like that, when the pain in his eyes first started, the lute case slipped from his grasp as he stared at Ciri, her lip wobbling, and he dropped to his knees and pulled her into his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back with these ones again!! Buahahahaha!!

Jaskier trained with Letho on the path for four years, one of which Letho stayed at a distance from his boy to see how he did on his own. Letho was impressed when he watched Jaskier navigate through a crowd and even had a stall clerk convinced Jaskier wasn't missing his sight. After that, Letho felt comfortable enough to let Jaskier travel on his own, leaving soon after with the promise to send messages to his boy every couple of weeks.

The day Letho received a response from one of his letters saying that Jaskier had met one of the wolf Witcher's, the Viper was suspicious and nervous for his son. Each response he got seemed happier than the others though, till they weren't. 

After one point, the letters got shorter, more direct, and Letho knew something happened. Then one day, the letters stopped. Letho traveled around the continent, completing contracts and doing what was asked of Witcher's while searching for any word of the bard that sung about his kind. The more he found nothing, the more a pit began to grow in his gut and soon he was feeling a sense of dread filled him. 

There was nothing. It was like his son was just… Gone. When that thought hit his mind, Letho had dropped to his knees in the middle of the woods after a hunt and screamed at the top of his lungs as he punched the ground.

~~~~

Letho went to Kaer Morhen after that, Vesemir taking one look at him and understanding crossed his face and welcomed the Viper into the walls. It was winter soon, soon the remaining wolves would come home and bunker down, and Letho can ask who it was his son traveled with and maybe find what happened to him. 

When the snow started to fall, Letho stood with Vesemir as Eskel returned then Lambert soon after. Letho had cornered each of them, asking about the bard, obviously leaving out the fact that he was his son, but neither of them had heard of Jaskier's whereabouts. Letho grieved about the keep, the younger wolfs trying to question Vesemir about the odd behavior from the Viper. 

One evening, Letho had thrown a Viper medallion -a replica of the one he wore- onto the dining table in front of Vesemir, and the old wolf sighed before looking at Letho.

"He could still be alive, Letho. No word does not mean dead." The old wolf spoke, ignoring the questioning look from the two youngers. Letho shook his head.

"Half a year, Vesemir. I haven't heard word for half a year. Each letter I sent never arrived." Letho mumbled, staring at his hands.

"Someone want to explain to me the importance of this bard?" Lambert said in annoyance and Vesemir sighed. The old wolf looked at Letho and the snake just gave a small nod before taking a tankard and drinking down the ale within till it was gone, then stood to get more. 

"The bard is Letho's son," Vesemir says simply. 

"You mean… Like a Child Surprise?" Eskel asked, his gaze following after Letho. 

"No, I mean his actual son," Vesemir said, holding up his hand to silence Lambert as the youngest wolf opened his mouth to protest. "The bard's mother experimented on herself with various concoctions, wishing a child. As it would seem, she managed to enhance Letho's fertility for one time only and got pregnant." Lambert's eyes went wide while Eskel frowned and stared at Letho as the large Witcher started to drink straight from the bottle. "Letho hasn't heard from his son in, as you heard, half a year." 

The wolfs had grown silent around the table, staring at their cups as they tried to think of something to say. Lambert was first to break the silence.

"I… Eskel and I can start gathering wood… We can have a fire in the courtyard." Lambert looked t his brother, Eskel nodding slowly. "In a couple of days, just time to prepare… Make it nice." Lambert's eyes dart to the medallion replica in Vesemir's grip then over to Letho. "Are… Are you sure? 

Letho looked over at Lambert, a frown etched on his face as he slowly shook his head.

"No, I'm not," Letho grunted, looking down. "I don't want to admit he is dead… I…" Letho's voice cracked as he shut his eyes. "I want to believe he is alive, somewhere safe… Not getting ripped apart by ghouls." Letho rubbed a hand over his face, growling, and threw the empty bottle of spirit in his hand at the wall. "Fuck!" 

Letho walked away from the wolves and Eskel made move to follow after him but Vesemir quickly grabbed his wrist and shook his head.

"Give him some time, pup." Eskel frowned, staring after the Viper for a second longer before sitting back down. 

The rest of the evening passed in silence.

~~~~

Jaskier felt terrible for not sending messages to his father after the dragon hunt with Geralt, but he just… Wasn't feeling it. He didn't want to feel, didn't want to talk about it. Geralt gave his dark world color, gave it song when there was only silence, Geralt made his world bright.

He did the only thing he felt was right, Jaskier went to Cintra. It took a couple of hours of convincing, and plenty of begging, before Jaskier was allowed to stay. The bard played at court constantly, always something light and happy while in private he sang of heartbreak and pain. The first time Princess Cirilla had asked him to play one of the songs she heard him playing in his chambers, it set off like wildfire, "Her Sweet kiss" becoming the new hot song created by the bard, soon everyone was singing it. 

Cirilla and Jaskier soon became closer than before. The bard had always played at her name day after she was born and it had just become a new normal for him, always sneaking her stories about the White Wolf when her grandmother wasn't around.

The day Cintra was attacked, Jaskier bumped into Mousesack escorting Cirilla out of the city and quickly joined them. He made a silent promise to look after the princess for Geralt and he would do just that. 

That meant Jaskier stayed with Cirilla, did his best to keep her fed, warm, cared for. When they found a refuge camp, Jaskier wasn't going to be fooled into thinking they were safe, keeping an ear out for anything. He was right, Jaskier had told Ciri they needed to leave and managed to get the girl out of the camp just as soon as the raid began. 

The elf boy, Dara, he was a good kid, he would help keep Ciri safe. One night, Ciri had accidentally slipped up, calling Jaskier "dad", and the bard froze as he looked over at Ciri's voice. A small smile fell on his face as he pulled her close to him and gently nuzzled her hair, whispering that if she wished to call him that, it was fine, that he loved her dearly. 

One night, as they all set together, Jaskier was teaching Ciri how to play on his Lute when he felt the urge, to be honest. He pulled his hands back and huffed softly.

"Jask? You okay?" He smiled at Ciri's voice, nodding ever so slightly.

"I need to tell you something, darling girl." He could hear Ciri shifting about in her seat, Dara across from them leaning closer. "I want you to look at my eyes, okay? Look closely." Jaskier smiled as he felt soft puffs of air on his face.

"There your eyes, Jaskier… I don't--" Ciri's voice trailed off as she stared, inhaling as she noticed the way that Jaskier's eyes didn't react at all to the flickering of the fire beside them and the quickly dimming light of day. "You're blind?"

Jaskier smiled as he nodded. 

"Very good." Ciri gasped and sat back, staring at Jaskier.

"But you move around so well! You don't even have someone helping you get around!" Jaskier laughed, shaking his head gently.

"You have better hearing," Dara said, and Jaskier pointed towards him. "You're not completely human?" Jaskier looked at the young elf, giving a nod.

"Correct, young one. I'm not." Ciri gasped and clapped her hands.

"Really?! What are you then?" She paused. "Wait… That sounded rude." Jaskier laughed, shaking his head.

"My mother has elven blood, and my father---" Jaskier's head quickly turned and he stared off in a direction even though he couldn’t see. "Dara, take Ciri." 

Ciri looked at Jaskier with a frown, but the bard was already standing and quickly shoving his lute case towards her with the bedroll they managed to hold onto. 

"Dara, take her now!" Jaskier shoved Cirilla toward the elf and the boy quickly took her hand as Jaskier's hand shot out and grabbed hold of something. Ciri stared in horror as an arrow tip was only centimeters from her.

"Run!" Dara took off, pulling Ciri along behind him.

"Jaskier! Jask!" Ciri was crying for him, and watching in fear as a group of soldiers came out of the trees and started to surround him. Each one that tried to peruse after the pair, Jaskier stole a blade from another soldier and quickly drove the sharp end into them. Ciri lost sight of Jaskier just as the bard was hit over the back of the head and fell. 

Ciri cried for him, but Dara didn't let her stop. The princess held tightly to the lute as she ran with Dara.

~~~~

The snow started falling harder and the wolves began to wonder if Geralt was actually going to make it home this winter. They were all concerned about their resident Viper, the large man more silent than usual. Letho trained with them, showing them a few new moves that Vipers used a lot, while they showed him a couple. 

One of these days is when they hear another horse coming up the mountain and all the wolves ran to the gate to see who it was. Letho followed more slowly, coming to stand by Eskel as the red-clad Witcher whistled loudly at the sight of white hair come into view. 

"Geralt!" Eskel yelled and the white-haired Witcher lifted an arm in greeting, walking alongside Roach as a blue-capped figure sat on top of the mare. Vesemir's eye twitched as he told Lambert to go open the gates, the group walking back to the courtyard to greet their wayward Witcher. 

"Geralt, you're late," Vesemir said offhandedly, his gaze lifting to stare at the young girl on top of roach, clutching something rather large to her under her cloak. 

"I was held up." Geralt grunted, turning to help the girl down from Roach's back. Letho's gaze immediately glued onto the case that came into view as the girls cloak billowed out when she was set on the ground. Ignoring the way Geralt growled at him, Letho approached the young girl and knelt in front of her.

Her bright green eyes wide with worry as they looked at one another and she flinched when Letho reached out, her eyes dropping to the case in her arms as Letho's fingertips landed on it, gently tracing across the surface like it was something precious. Letho's eyes jumped to the girl's face and her eyes suddenly filled with tears. 

"Where is he?" Letho's voice was soft but broke as a small flicker of hope filled him.

"Th-they took him." Letho frowned.

"They?" He questioned and the girl nodded so hard it looked like it hurt.

"He said to run… We did, but there were too many… They… The soldiers took him." The tears started falling freely now and Letho nodded slowly, smiling sadly as he reached up and gently brushed the tears from her cheeks. Looking at Geralt, the white-haired Witcher's eyes wide with confusion and surprise at Letho's actions, the larger Witcher stood and leveled him with a glare.

"Why wasn't Jaskier with you?" Letho growled and Geralt's brow twitched.

"How do you know Jaskier?" Geralt asked, now glaring at the Viper. 

"Why wasn't Jaskier with you?" Letho growled again, taking an aggressive step towards Geralt, and the girl gasped loudly.

"You're his dad!" She yelled and Letho turned to look at her again, a small smile on his face.

"You're smart for one so young." The girl blushed. She pulled the case out from her cloak and held it out to him. Letho took it with care and Geralt looked at her in confusion. 

"Ciri… Isn’t that yours? Why are you giving it to him?" Geralt placed his hand on her shoulder, making her look up at him with a frown.

"I tried to tell you… The soldiers took him! You weren't listening!" Ciri shoved Geralt and the Witcher frowned. "The soldiers that attacked the city, they took him. They took Jaskier!"

Letho sucked in a breath and then was staring angrily at Geralt, his lips pulled back in a snarl.

"Why wasn't he with you!?" Letho bellowed. "You are the only Wolf left that he could possibly have traveled with!" Geralt had gone white as a sheet, staring in horror at Ciri.

"I… I made him leave." Geralt whispered and Letho roared. Rage filled him and he moved to attack the wolf but something small was suddenly clinging to his leg and he looked down. 

Bright green eyes filled with tears stared up at him and Letho suddenly remembered when Jaskier held onto him like that, when the pain in his eyes first started, the lute case slipped from his grasp as he stared at Ciri, her lip wobbling, and he dropped to his knees and pulled her into his arms. 

She started sobbing. Pressing her face hard into his chest and clinging to the front of his shirt tightly as her sobbing filled the air, each of the wolves looking uncomfortable and not know how to deal with the crying child. Letho leveled Geralt with a glare.

"You are going to help me rescue Jaskier, Geralt… And then I am going to kick your fucking ass to Skellige and back." Letho growled. 

"What do you expect us to achieve? It's winter!" Geralt hissed and Letho growled loudly, rubbing Ciri's back when the girl clung tighter. 

"Deal with it! I don't need your fucking excises, I just need your fucking sword!" Letho seethed at the wolf but then looked back to Ciri, holding the girl close to him and letting her cry till her breathing turned into small hiccups. Letho stood, holding the girl in his arms still, and looked to Vesemir.

"Is there a room ready to set her up in?" The old wolf nodded, jerking his head back.

"We are going to talk about what you did, pup. That bard is one of us." Geralt threw his hands up in the air and was about to protest. "Put your horse away, she needs the rest. Then we are all going to talk about what the next step is." Vesemir glared at Geralt, daring him to protest, but the white-haired Witcher simply growled and took hold of Roach's reins. 

Vesemir lead Letho inside, the two of them setting about getting a room for the girl to rest in.


	5. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Dad…?" Letho's eyes went wide as he stared into Jaskier's eyes, the regular pupils his son once donned now slit and cat-like, reacting to the light around them. 
> 
> "Julian." Letho breathed quietly, cupping his son's cheeks and gently tracing his thumbs across the skin, a small smile pulling his lips. "You can see?"

Jaskier stared into the usual darkness that was his world, twisting his wrists in their chains to attempt circulation to return to his fingers. Wiggling the digits to fight the tingling that was settling in. He could hear his interrogators getting pissy with him for his lack of answers for them. 

"What do you mean he doesn't know anything?" Someone hissed and Jaskier snorted.

"He hasn't been giving up ay information. If he even knows." Another voice said.

"He was found _with_ the princess! He must know something!" The first voice said in annoyance. Jaskier could tell he was being looked at now, stopping his wiggling as he closes his hands into fists.

"Why were you with the princess?" Someone walked up close to him and Jaskier could feel their breath on his skin, it made him cringe. 

"Right place, wrong time?" Jaskier snarked and something smacked his cheek, making his head snap to the side. 

"Why were you with her!?" Jaskier licked his lips as a metallic taste filled his mouth. He licked his lips again and turned back to face the voice, spitting the blood on his tongue at them. The person hissed and growled, smacking him again. 

"Why were you with her!? Where were you headed!?" Jaskier rolled his eyes, spitting the blood pooling in his mouth at their feet. He grinned to himself at the disgusted noise the person made and he guessed he got blood on their shoe. 

"Damnit! Call the fucking mage!" The person snarled, throwing their hands up. "We're not going to get anything out of this one by normal means I don't think." Jaskier's lips pulled back in a snarl, glaring at the direction of the voice. 

"What shall we do while we wait then?" A third voice asked and there was a mean chuckle from the first.

"We keep trying." Jaskier didn't like the glee in their voice, tugging sharply against his bindings.

~~~~

"What do you mean you're leaving now!?" Lambert yelled across the courtyard of the keep, watching as Letho pulled his mount from the stables and petting its nose while he glared over in Geralt's direction. 

"These men seem to be stopping at nothing to find that young princess, that means torture." Letho turned his gaze to Lambert. "Your fucking idiot brother brought this on my child, he is going to fucking fix it," Letho growled as he swung himself up onto his horse. "The pass won't be completely closed till two weeks time, we should be back by then." Lambert scoffs.

"Two weeks? How the fuck are you going to be there and back within two bloody weeks?!" Lambert yelled, watching as Geralt now hoisted himself up onto Roach and Letho pulled something from one of his saddlebags. 

"This is a one time use teleporter." Letho shakes it like a new toy while showing Lambert. "They are two halves of a whole, whoever has the second half the carrier of the first will be able to transport to where they are, bypassing any boundaries and barriers. So even if we take longer then two weeks, we will be able to get back." Lambert frowned at the little trinket, glaring at it. 

"And who has the other half?" Letho rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"Seriously?" Letho snorted, motioning behind Lambert and the youngest Witcher turned to see Vesemir holding up the other half of the trinket. 

"Don’t fret, Lambert," Lambert growled at Vesemir's words but sighed, looking at Geralt and the white-haired Witcher gives a small nod to him.

"Keep Ciri safe, we'll be back soon." Geralt said softly, looking over at the girl in question and gave her a small smile as she clung to Vesemir's side. 

"We'll keep the cub safe, wolf. Don't worry." Geralt smiled slightly, giving Ciri a reassuring smile when the girl waved at him.

"Come back safe, Geralt." Her voice was quiet, nervous, and she clung tighter to Vesemir as both Viper and Wolf kicked their mounts into a gallop and rode off down the mountain path.

~~~~

Jaskier shut his eyes tightly and bit his lip when the tails of a whip cut into the skin on his back.

"Talk!" Snap. "You stupid!" Snap. "Bard!" Snap.

Jaskier groaned, the feeling of blood dripping down his back making him shiver as he swallowed down a whine. The whip stopping mid-strike at the sound of the door opening and the noise of heels clicking against the floor made Jaskier lift his head weakly. 

"What is this I hear about you having difficulty, jailor?" The feminine voice spoke with annoyance. 

"Sorry, miss. This one just doesn't talk." Jaskier hissed when something pressed into the wounds on his back. 

"I see." Someone new walked closer to Jaskier, the warmth coming off their skin unnaturally hot and made the Bard flinch back. The one in front of him stares at Jaskier for a long before he could feel two fingers press against his forehead and he could feel something crawling into his mind and trying to pull something free when suddenly the pull was gone and the one in front of him hissed in annoyance.

"This man is fucking _blind_! Didn't you fucking notice?!" The female voice hissed.

"Impossible! He killed six of our men before he was finally captured!" The one who was whipping him yelled and the woman hummed with interest. 

"Interesting… Perhaps if we heal his sight, I may be able to pull out something more useful." Jaskier's eyes widened slightly at the comment but remained silent as the conversation went on about him. He stopped listening, not caring for their continued conversation, he didn't want to have any sort of hope for his sight. When was the last time he saw something? When he was seven? Eight? Gods…

~~~~

Jaskier didn't know how long he was in the room, listening to them talk about him, around him, asking his the odd question here and there. The worst was when that mage started to experiment with his eyes, trying to get them working properly again. The pain the potions and her spells caused was worse then when he first started to lose his sight and finally after she forced what felt like the hundredth potion down his throat, he screamed.

Once he started to see shaped and some colors, his mind was probed at again, but everything the mage tried turned up nothing, Jaskier's world was black from the time he lost his sight to when the mage started experimenting. She screamed in frustration, yelling at the others to keep working on him, and took her leave.

Jaskier kept his eyes closed from then on, not wanting to get his hopes up in any regard when it came to his eyes, as soon as the shapes and colors started come Jaskier refused to look anymore for fear of having it all disappear again. His captors spent hours on end cutting into him, the whip being their favorite, or dislocating his arms or fingers only to reset them then do it all over again. 

At some point they stopped asking questions and just took enjoyment in tormenting the bard, Jaskier stopped trying to keep track of how many days he was trapped. The pain of his torment blurring into each session and soon his whole body was just one sore bruise. One day there was a crash outside the door and Jaskier lifted his head ever so slightly, listening to the scrambling inside the room as the ones within rushing out. 

Jaskier tilted his head, frowning at the noise of sword clashing against sword, and his whole body went rigged when the door burst open and a pair of boots rushed in.

"Lock it, you stupid Viper!" Jaskier's brow shot up to his hairline.

"Fuck off, Wolf! We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you!" Jaskier's eyes flew open at the sound of Letho's voice. The light of the room made him have to shut his eyes again as it stung and he let out a weak whimper. 

"Julian!" Letho gasped and quickly ran over to his son, a low growl in his throat as he took in the appearance of his son. Cuts decorating his body with clothing in tatters. "Fuck… I'll kill them!" 

"Hard to kill what's already dead, Letho." Geralt's voice growled as he stared at Jaskier's body, a deep frown on his lips. Jaskier opened his eyes again, blinking rapidly as tears filled his eyes at the brightness, and lifted his gaze. 

A broken sob worked it's way out of Jaskier's throat as he stared at golden cat eyes filled with concern and rage, blinking more than a dozen times to make sure that what he was seeing wasn't a lie. 

"Dad…?" Letho's eyes went wide as he stared into Jaskier's eyes, the regular pupils his son once donned now slit and cat-like, reacting to the light around them. 

"Julian." Letho breathed quietly, cupping his son's cheeks and gently tracing his thumbs across the skin, a small smile pulling his lips. "You can see?" 

Jaskier nodded slowly at the question, more fresh tears spilling from his eyes as he leans into the touch of Letho's hands as his eyes slip closed.

"Tired." Jaskier croaks quietly, and Letho frowns deeply quickly working to unshackle Jaskier's wrists and hoists his son into his arms.

"Let's go, Geralt. We're done here." The Witcher's quickly left the room, rushing to their horses and mounting them. They gallop till they are a good distance away before Letho throws his half of the teleportation trinket, a large portal bursting open just in front of them and the horses rush through just before the portal closes again, leaving no trace of them.


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You never had any because you never gave anyone a time of day, pup." Geralt looked up at Vesemir and scowled. "I am aware of your grunted stories of the djinn, of your sorceress," Geralt looks back down at the table. "and the events of the betrothal, but Geralt," Vesemir stood, reaching across the table and grabbing hold of the Witcher's jaw, harshly tugging his face up. "We have to know when to take responsibility for our own actions."

When the portal opened in the middle of the courtyard, Eskel had to quickly sweep Ciri up and out of the way while Lambert quickly jumped to the side as Letho and Geralt came charging through. Vesemir laughed when Lambert cursed loudly and threw a rock towards Roach's hind legs but the laughter stopped when he spotted the body curled up against Letho's chest. Vesemir quickly went over, taking the bard from Letho and cradled the bard close to his chest.

"Eskel, help Geralt stable the horses. They deserve a break. Lambert, come with me." Eskel and Geralt moved to do as told, but Lambert grumbled.

"Why can't the big mean fucking Viper help you with his fucking "son", huh?" Lambert growled but Vesemir gave Lambert a stern look and jerked his head over to where Letho was now hunched over on the ground with his face in his hands, Ciri running over to him and wrapping her little arms around his shoulders.

"He is not fit to help." Lambert frowned hard as he watched Letho for only a second longer before following after Vesemir and they took the bard to the medical wing. 

"Get me the bandages there." Vesemir pointed and Lambert moved, the old Witcher settling Jaskier down on a bed as he went about cutting away the ratted clothing to get a better look at the damage. "Shit. Take the pot there and get water, bring it to a boil. We need to clean his wounds." 

Lambert moved without question, quickly doing as directed while Vesemir went about mixing herbs and ointments together. When Lambert came back they worked together to get Jaskier's wounds cleaned and bandaged, setting a dislocated shoulder and checking the bruised joints of the bard's fingers to make sure they were set properly and splinting the ones that needed to be popped into place again. 

"Get me that mix over there." Vesemir pointed to a freshly mixed potion and Lambert quickly went for it but paused and frowned as he looked at Vesemir.

"This is Swallow. This can kill him!" Lambert stated and Vesemir sighed softly, shaking his head.

"Lambert, this boy is the son of a Witcher. The potions will not kill him." Lambert hesitated a little bit longer before nodding and pouring the mix into a proper cup and came over, helping Vesemir lift the bards head and pour the potion down his throat. Jaskier sputtered around the liquid, his eyes scrunching tightly, and Vesemir hushed him while gently petting the top of his hair. 

"Easy, Jaskier. Easy." Vesemir spoke softly while continuing to pet Jaskier's hair from his face, the bard's eyes fluttering as he tried to focus. 

"Ves…?" The old Witcher smiled, even though his voice was horrible at the moment it was good to hear the bards voice.

"I'm here. It's ok, you're safe." Jaskier makes a noise and settles into the bed, his breathing leveling out as he falls asleep properly, the potion doing its work.

"Will he be alright?" Lambert asked and Vesemir nods slowly.

"He'll wake in the morning. He'll be sore, but he'll be with us." Lambert nods as Vesemir settles in for a long night of keeping the bard looked after.

~~~~

When Jaskier woke, he opened his eyes slowly. His heart rate picking up pace and breathing increased as he was petrified that seeing his dad again was but a dream, that it was temporary, that his world would return to darkness. 

"Hey, hey. Jaskier breath." There was a warm hand on his shoulder and Jaskier's eyes opened, turning to look at the direction of the voice and he froze when he met the golden eyes of an older Witcher. 

"V-Vesemir…?" The old Witcher's eyes widened as he stared at the bard, reaching over to gently touch just below the bard's eye, making him flinch, and gently brushes his thumb across the skin. 

"What did they do to you?" Jaskier frowned, shaking his head slowly.

"M-made me drink potions… Thought…" Jaskier licked his lips and swallowed, Vesemir quickly leaned over and got a glass of water, helping the bard drink. "They thought if… They put my vision back… They would be able to look in my memory and find answers" Vesemir frowned as he looked at Jaskier. 

"How does that logic work?" Vesemir wondered and Jaskier snorted, smiling softly.

"It doesn’t." Vesemir laughed softly and Jaskier stared at the old Witcher, reaching out a hand to him and Vesemir leaned into the reach, letting the bard run his hand over his features. "You are more handsome than I originally thought, you know. For an old man." 

Vesemir laughed loudly, drawing attention from those outside the room, and suddenly Letho was inside the room.

"How is he?" Letho looked between the two of them, Jaskier's eyes darting towards him and the bard smiled wide. 

"Hey, dad." Letho smiled wide and stepped close to his son, kneeling next to the bed and took Jaskier's hand into his own when Jaskier reached for him. "You look the same." Letho chuckled, grinning at his boy.

"Do I now? Not even a wrinkle?" Jaskier laughed as Letho teased him, shaking his head as he traced his fingers across Letho's cheeks and jaw. 

"Sorry to say, but no." Letho and Vesemir both laughed and more faces popped into view.

"I can assume he's doing alright then?" Jaskier looked at the door, his bro lifting as standing there was three new faces. One with scars that marred his upper lip, but he was still smiling, another with a widow's peak in his hair with scars that curved the side of his face, and finally a smaller girl with ashen-hair that stared at him with wide eyes.

"Ciri." Jaskier breathed and tried to sit up, wincing at how sore his body was, and the girl rushed over to him. She tried her best to be gentle, but Jaskier grunted as she collided with him and wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly as she pressed her face close to his neck.

"You're okay… You're alive." She whispered against his skin and Jaskier smiled as he held tighter to her.

"It's ok, you're ok." He smiled still as Ciri pulled back and wiped tears from her cheeks, smiling down at him as she laughed wetly. Her head tilted slightly as she stared down at Jaskier's eyes. 

"Your eye… It changed color." Jaskier's brow pinched as he stared at Ciri then looked to Vesemir and his dad.

"Changed… Changed how…?" Letho looked at Vesemir and they both shared a look before Letho reached over and came back with a shard of mirror, holding it in front of Jaskier. The bard stared wide-eyed, one cornflower blue eye while the other… His right eye was gold like a Witcher's. Lifting a hand, he touched the mirror than his face, his eyes jumping across the faces he could see and frowned nervously.

"Does… Does it look bad?" Letho opened his mouth to respond but Lambert cut in.

"I certainly wouldn't kick you out of bed." Jaskier looked at the man with the widows-peak hair and his mouth gaped before laughing out loud.

"And you must be Lambert." Jaskier smiled. "Which means you are Eskel." Jaskier looked at the scarred Witcher, shock on their faces. "Vesemir told me what you looked like." the pair laughed softly.

"Why is it we haven't met you before, sweet thing?" Lambert purred, grinning as Jaskier blushed and rolled his eyes while Letho groaned.

"Seriously, Lambert? He's just woken up and your hitting on my son?" Letho turned and looked at Lambert, the youngest Witcher shrugging. 

"What? He's nice to look at." Eskel cuffed him over the head and Lambert laughed. 

Jaskier moved to sit up properly but paused as he cringed in pain, Letho reaching out to help him. Jaskier looked about the room and almost felt disappointed when he didn't see Geralt show up, of course, he wouldn't. Ciri seemed to read him and smiled as she curled up next to his lap, laying her head on his shoulder. 

"Geralt is brushing Roach, he says he needs to pamper her after how hard he drove her." Jaskier snorted, shaking his head.

"He better be spoiling that horse. The beautiful girl does so much for him." Ciri giggled and nodded. "But why did he push her?" Jaskier looked to Letho with a lifted brow and the Viper frowned.

"You have been with Nilfguard for a month." Jaskier went pale. A month? He missed a whole month? "Geralt and I left here and rode hard till we overheard a couple of soldiers bragging about your capture." Jaskier nodded slowly, staring at the wall. "You did well, Jaskier. You took out a lot before you were taken. I'm proud of you." 

Jaskier smiled at Letho, giving a small nod.

"I'm tired…" Letho watched Jaskier for a second longer before nodding and helped Ciri from the bed.

"Sleep. One of us will be close by if you need anything." Jaskier scooted back down into the bed, pulling a blanket up around his chin and rolled onto the side that didn't hurt as much. Being back in the keep was a small comfort, but being here because he needs healing from being kidnapped? Not being welcome by all its inhabitants? Jaskier couldn't handle it. He shut his eyes tightly and willed himself to sleep.

Outside the room, everyone noticed Geralt sitting at a table with a book in hand and reading. Letho felt anger bubble up in his chest and was about to stomp over to the wolf but Ciri beat him to it. The girl running over and snatching the book from the Witcher and _hitting_ him with it.

"Why didn't you go see him?!" Geralt frowned at her. "You're his friend!" 

"I'm not his friend." Geralt growled. "He was an unwanted tag-along that caused issues." Ciri hit him with the book again, nice and hard over the head.

"Am I one of those issues too?!" She yelled at him, tears filling her eyes, and Geralt frowned at her. "Jaskier told me stories about you, about his time with you… He told me about my parent's betrothal, how you saved my father and called the law of surprise." Ciri now had tears running down her face. "Am I an issue too!?"

Geralt frowned, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to find his words, but apparently, his silence was answer enough for Ciri and she ran back to the room with Jaskier, slamming the door behind her. Everyone stared after her before settling their eyes on Geralt, every Witcher giving the man a disapproving scowl.

"What?!" Geralt hissed and Eskel was first to simply just shake his head, throw up his hands, and walk away. Lambert was next, giving Geralt a scalding glare, and left to join Eskel. Vesemir sighed heavily and shared a look with Letho, the old wolf could see the viper doing his best to hold in his temper and Vesemir waved him off, so Letho quickly left for the courtyard before he throttled Geralt.

"You truly believe he's the cause of all your problems?" Vesemir asked Geralt, walking over to the table and sitting across from the pup. 

"Never had any till he came along." Geralt growled, glaring at the tabletop. Vesemir sighed.

"You never had any because you never gave anyone a time of day, pup." Geralt looked up at Vesemir and scowled. "I am aware of your grunted stories of the djinn, of your sorceress," Geralt looks back down at the table. "and the events of the betrothal, but Geralt," Vesemir stood, reaching across the table and grabbing hold of the Witcher's jaw, harshly tugging his face up. "We have to know when to take responsibility for our own actions."

Geralt snarled as he pulled his head away from the grip, glaring at Vesemir, and the old wolf just grunted at him.

"That boy in there didn't make you bind yourself to the sorceress, nor did he threaten you to call the Law of Surprise. _You_ did." Vesemir pointed at him. "And if you don't pull your head from your ass and see that, you will have a very difficult Winter this year." Geralt stared in shock at Vesemir's words before snarling.

"This is my home!" Geralt rose to his feet, trying to intimidate Vesemir, and the old wolf slammed his hand down on the table.

"As it is his!" Vesemir snarled loudly, making Geralt flinch. "Jaskier is one of us! By blood, he was born into our family, and because of your mess he will never be accepted like before after this!" That made Geralt pause, his eyes darting to the door where Jaskier resides behind. 

"What do you mean?" Geralt looked back at Vesemir and the old wolf scoffed.

"Find out for yourself." Vesemir threw his hands up and walked away from Geralt, leaving the Witcher confused. 

Geralt stared after his mentor for a long time, finally sitting back down after a minute and picked up his book. He stared at the cover for a long time before deciding to flip it open again. He'll look in on the bard… Later.

Inside the room, Jaskier held Ciri close to his chest as the girl cried till there was nothing left and she had fallen asleep, Jaskier promising himself that even if his sight disappeared tomorrow, he will kick Geralt's ass for making this beautiful girl cry.


	7. 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "How the fuck did you know he'd do it, buttercup?" Lambert asked Jaskier, and the bard just smiled as he dared a glance at Geralt.
> 
> "I know him." Jaskier states simply and Geralt feels his world swallowed up with guilt.

Geralt avoided checking on the bard for as long as he could rationally justify it, as soon as he started coming up with outlandish excuses he resigned himself to it and headed towards to medical room Jaskier was residing in, but when he opened the door the bard wasn't there. Geralt was suddenly filled with dread and guilt, thinking the bard had somehow left, and made his way to the courtyard.

When he opened the door, he could hear cheering from the courtyard and made his way over. The sight he walked upon shocked him to his very core. Jaskier, _blindfolded_ Jaskier, was in the center with a practice sword in hand and fucking _Lambert_ sparing with him!

Geralt approached quicker, keeping his eye on the match. He ends up standing next to Eskel, the scarred Witcher grinning widely.

"Kick his ass, Lambert!" Eskel yelled and Lambert flipped him off, making him laugh.

"Focus, Julian!" Letho's voice rose above the cheering from Ciri and Eskel, the large Witcher's arms crossed over his chest as he watched his son duel with the wolf. Geralt spared a glance at the viper, the Witcher's focus completely on the match. Lambert made a swipe for Jaskier's shoulder but the bard blocked and shoved back, arching his blade back and smacking Lambert on the hip.

"Point!" Jaskier cheered and Letho snapped his fingers, making Jaskier laugh softly but focus. 

"What's going on?" Geralt asked Eskel and the Witcher grinned.

"Lambert didn't believe that a blind man could be any good in battle, so, we blindfolded Jaskier and here we are." Eskel cheered as Lambert managed to smack Jaskier's shoulder, the bard grinning widely as he shook out the joint and quickly returned with a parry. What wasn't counted for, was the practice blade of Lambert's to slide just perfectly under the blindfold along Jaskier's head and pull the fabric off. 

Snow now a heavy layer on the ground and the sun high, the light was blinding and Jaskier immediately dropped the practice sword and screamed as he quickly covered his eyes with his hands and fell to the side as he was in the middle of a movement. 

"Julian!" Letho yelled for him and quickly jumped into the courtyard, running over to his son. Jaskier curled up on his side as he held his hands over his eyes, keeping them shut tightly underneath, as he tried to block out as much light as he could. 

"You're okay, you're okay," Letho muttered as he and Lambert got the man to his feet and started to lead him inside. Geralt snorted, his eyes following after them as they lead the bard inside. 

"He shouldn't be sparing a Witcher if he's that scared of being hurt." Geralt sneered and Letho paused, still well within earshot, and cast a glare over his shoulder.

"Eskel! Help Lambert take Julian inside. You as well, Ciri." Eskel shook his head at his brother and Ciri frowned hard at him before they both ran over to Jaskier and helped Lambert get him inside. Letho quickly leaving their sides to rush up to Geralt and land a solid punch along the side of the Witcher's jaw. 

"What the fuck is your problem!?" Letho roared. "He's traveled with you for years, _years_ , and you act like you could care less!" Geralt growled as he rubbed his jaw, glaring at Letho.

"He doesn't belong here! Your son or not, this is a Witcher keep!" Geralt yelled back and Letho growled loudly. 

"Oh, seriously!? That's your issue right now!?" Letho towered over Geralt.

"No! My issue is that he's a fucking burden on all of us and you all act like it's fucking normal!" Letho's lips pulled back into a full snarl and he tackled Geralt to the ground, the two Witcher's now fully going at each other. Letho landed more punches then Geralt, having the advantage of being on top, and Geralt only managed to get in a couple because of a couple of openings he made by playing dirty. 

"He's my fucking _son_! Not your fucking witch! Unlike her, he fucking matters to people whether you like it or not!" Letho screamed, punching Geralt hard in the face and blood splattered all over his fist as Geralt roared and rammed his knee into Letho's tender bits to make the larger man get off of him finally. 

They both rolled to the side, Letho adorning new cuts on his face from the impact of Geralt's punches while Geralt held tight to his nose. Letho stood first, brushing himself off despite the pain between his legs, and pointed at Geralt.

"If you took five minutes out of your self-fucking-wallowing to think about someone else for a moment, you will realize just who Jaskier is and what he fucking means to you." Letho began to walk away, spitting blood into the snow, and Geralt growled.

"And just so you know, Geralt, you bard was blind. Had been for years! That's why he had such a reaction." Geralt stared wide-eyed after Letho, frowning hard.

Jaskier was blind? What the fuck? What sort of joke was that? A terrible one, that's what.  
Geralt rolled his eyes and stood, holding his bloody face as he slowly walked into the main hall. When he entered, everyone was flitting about Letho asking if he was ok, and when Lambert spotted Geralt's condition he burst out laughing. 

Geralt rolled his eyes and growled, sitting down heavily in a chair across from everyone, looking up when feet approached him and Eskel grabbed his jaw and swatted his hand away.

"Nailed you good, didn't he," Eskel said as he looked at Geralt's nose and gently prodded it before, without warning, snapped it back into place and made the Witcher growl loudly. 

"Guy's built like a fucking Ox." Geralt muttered and Eskel snorted and shook his head.

"Oi, Jaskier! I need a couple of bandages for our resident dumb ass!" Eskel called across the room and Geralt Glared at his brother while Eskel shrugged. "What? It's true." 

"Here you go, Eskel," Jaskier said as he came up beside the Witcher.

"Thank you." Eskel plucked the cloth from Jaskier's hands. Geralt found he could look away from Jaskier as the bard finally looked at him. One cornflower blue eye wide while the other a bright shade of gold, their pupils slit. 

"What…" Geralt croaked and Jaskier turned away, a deep frown on the bard's lips.

"Need anything else, Eskel?" The scarred Witcher shook his head and gently pat his shoulder and the bard ran back towards Letho and the other two. Geralt Watched as Jaskier swooped Ciri into his arms and held her tight as she burrowed her face into his neck as he spoke with Letho, the bard reaching out and poking a cut on the Vipers cheek making him hiss and Jaskier laugh.

"Eskel… What happened to his eye…?" Geralt asked as he looked at his brother, Eskel was frowning as he worked on Geralt's face.

"He was blind before, apparently one of the mages working with Nilfguard thought that if they restored his sight then they would be able to access his memories properly." Eskel snorted. "Can access what was never there, dumb asses." Geralt could only stare at Eskel as he worked.

"He… He was really blind?" Geralt whispered and Eskel paused, frowning as he looked at Geralt's face.

"You really didn't know?" Eskel prodded and Geralt shook his head. Sure, at points during their travels he suspected something was up with the bard, what with the way he traced over each letter he wrote down on a page or took a moment to catch up properly when they entered a larger town. Eskel sighed.

"They gave him gods know what to get some hidden Witcher gene in his body to kick in, that's why he can see now. According to Letho, when Jaskier was about eight seasons he had intense pain in his eyes. Made him sick, then everything started to hurt." Geralt sucked in a breath and his eyes fell on Jaskier. 

"He had a natural awakening with mutations?" Geralt questioned the Eskel nodded.

"That's what Vesemir says. Letho brought Jaskier here after the man graduated from Oxenfurt," Geralt snorted. "and helped train him to fight without the use of his eyes. Letho did the rest, training him to be able to walk a path without the need of anyone's help." Geralt frowned hard, remembering something Jaskier said to him before.

_"It's nice having company. Listening to someone, even you with your brutish grunting, it's like I'm not alone."_

Geralt felt the bottom of his gut open and he pressed a hand to his face when Eskel pulled back, finished with his fix-up, and growled in annoyance at himself.

"I'm a fucking asshole." Geralt growled, and Eskel suddenly cheered, grabbing the other's attention.

"The White Wolf has finally admitted it!" Eskel threw the extra bandages into the air and cheered again. "He said it! Lambert! You owe Jaskier the best cut at dinner tonight!" Eskel laughed and Lambert groaned.

"How the fuck did you know he'd do it, buttercup?" Lambert asked Jaskier, and the bard just smiled as he dared a glance at Geralt.

"I know him." Jaskier states simply and Geralt feels his world swallowed up with guilt as he watched Jaskier turn away and pass Ciri to Letho, the large Witcher hugging her to him as he laughed at their shenanigans. 

Geralt stared at his feet now, frowning hard, he didn't know to or where to start but what he did know was that he needed to start doing better by his- the- bard. He would make it right for his friend…

Geralt's eyes went wide as he looked up and over at Jaskier, his lips parted. Friend… Best friend… Only friend… His… Geralt pressed his hands to his face. 

Fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Geralt... You emotionally stunted moron


	8. .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, look!! It's alive!!! :D

Geralt spent the next couple of days working out how he could apologize to Jaskier. He looked in the books in the library, racked his brain for anything helpful, he even went as far as asking Eskel and Lambert for advice. Lambert laughed at him, of course, and Eskel playfully mocked but gave some good advice. Well… Kind of good advice. Eskel had suggested talking to Letho, apologizing to the Viper first before trying to approach the bard.

Geralt chewed the inside of his cheek, staring out at the trees from the battlements as he thought it all over. He had asked Letho that morning if the two of them could talk in private, getting a worried look from Jaskier when he had interrupted the two of them during a sight training of sorts, but Letho had given the bard a reassuring smile and agreed to meet Geralt. So there Geralt was, gnawing nervously at his cheek and now began pacing back and forth. 

"Nervous, wolf?" Letho's voice made Geralt jump, turning quickly on his heel to look at the approaching Viper, Letho's lips pulled back into a small frown. "What do you want, Geralt?" Letho asked and Geralt looked back out at the trees for a long moment before taking a deep breath. 

"I wanted to apologize…" Geralt started and Letho's brow lifted. "To you, for how I behaved this past while… And to Jaskier." Geralt added, ringing his fingers together nervously, glancing to the side. "I have not been thinking properly, hurting those around me." Geralt said quietly frowning now as he stared at his feet. Letho didn't say anything, watching as Geralt squirmed where he stood, his brow lifting ever so slightly. 

"What will you do?" Letho asked.

"Excuse me?" Geralt asked, looking at the Viper in surprise. 

"What will you do to apologize to my son?" Letho clarified and Geralt looked down again, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth and glanced out at the trees once again. He took a steadying breath and closed his eyes, taking a moment, before looking back at Letho.

"Anything. I will do anything." Geralt said, determination clear in his voice and in his eyes and Letho stared him down, brow lifted and arms folded over his chest still. Letho gave a small snort and smirked, staring at Geralt. 

"Coming to a realization there, wolf?" Letho asked coyly and Geralt growled quietly at him. "Tell me something though," Letho lifted a hand and rubbed his jaw before pointing at Geralt. "Can you resist your desire to hike up the skirt of that sorceress of yours? That is if you are truly wanting to follow through with your new realization." Letho said and Geralt opened his mouth to respond but paused, frowning as his brow pinched. "You can't answer that, can you?" Letho asked and Geralt frowned hard, glaring at the ground. 

"I want to say yes. I want to…" Geralt growled, continuing to glare at the ground. "I haven't seen Yennefer since the dragon hunt, haven't given her all that much thought, honestly." Geralt frowned hard. "I… Maybe… Maybe she was right. My wish fucked up any sort of feelings there may have been. Falsified it." Geralt ground his teeth together, glaring still. "I realized after Jaskier left… Everything he's ever done… Everything I've said… I was scared, foolish… Blind." Geralt spoke quietly and Letho just silently stood there, watching as the wolf spoke himself into realizing something important. "I was blind to Jaskier's help, blind to his care when he took care of me after hunts, blind to my feelings towards him." Geralt said. 

"Feelings?" Letho asked, rhetorical, but needing to hear Geralt's answer. The white wolf glared at the ground for a few breaths, clenching his fists and working his tongue behind his teeth before finally looking at Letho. 

"I love him… The way I thought I loved Yen, but not distorted by a foolish wish." Geralt said. The two Witcher's stared at one another for a long time, Letho's brow twitching ever so slightly before a small grin appeared on the Viper's lips. 

"Congratulations on pulling your head out of your ass, wolf," Letho announced with a happy grin and Geralt rolled his eyes but smiled ever so slightly. 

"Fuck off, Viper." Geralt grouched and Letho scoffed.

"Best be nicer to me now, wolf. I am your heart's desire's father." Letho said with an even larger grin and Geralt groaned softly.

"Everything has its downside… Good thing Jaskier makes it worth it." Geralt snarked and Letho laughed loudly, drawing the attention of Eskel and Lambert in the courtyard below who then exchanged curious looks with one another before they shrugged and went back to training. 

"Come on, wolf. I'm sure Vesemir will beat your ass if you don't get some training in today." Letho smirked and smacked Geralt's shoulder, making the wolf chuckle, and they both headed down to the courtyard. Nothing was fixed, not by a long shot, but at least Geralt finally felt like he was on the right track now.

~~~~

Later that evening, Letho had encouraged Jaskier to sit between Ciri and Geralt while taking a seat on Geralt's other side. Jaskier was confused but did as his father said, looking at Ciri and gave a shrug at the girl's curious look. The two of them joked and teased while Eskel and Vesemir came in with their meal for the evening, quickly handing out plates and utensils. Once the food was set, they all began dishing out their portions, Jaskier helping Ciri with hers and could only stare in surprise as Geralt dished out his, the white wolf only giving him a gentle smile before moving about to dish out a serving for himself. 

Jaskier could only stare, leaning back and peeking at his father with a lifted brow and the Viper only gave him a small smile and nod of encouragement before returning to his meal. Jaskier's head tilted some, looking at Geralt for another second then shrugged and went to his plate, reaching for his fork but overshot and knocked over his goblet instead. Jaskier stared wide-eyed as the ale sloshed across the table, the commotion of the others dying and everyone stared in silence as Jaskier's hand just hovered, his fingers twitching.

"Julian?" Letho's voice made him flinch, his eyes turning towards Letho and his eyes remained wide as he stared at the now black spot where his vision suddenly blacked out. 

"I… S-sorry." Jaskier stuttered, drawing his hand back and staring down at it as his lips pressed into a deep frown.

"Jaskier?" Geralt's voice was suddenly closer than he expected and Jaskier looked up to see Geralt staring at him with concern. Jaskier's lips pressing into a thin line as he stared at Geralt, the edges of his vision starting to darken, slowly spreading. 

"I… I…" Jaskier tried speaking but couldn’t form the words, looking around and blinking hard trying to make it go away, but it didn’t. Jaskier quickly stood and started to flee the room, covering his left eye. He was almost out of the room, so close to the door, but then suddenly everything went black and he walked face-first into the wall just beside the door. 

"Jaskier!" Geralt and Letho yelled, jumping from their seats and rushing over to the bard who was now kneeling on the floor with his hands over his face and body trembling. "Jaskier?" Geralt placed his hand gently on Jaskier's back, making the man jump and lift his face, looking towards Geralt's voice but not actually seeing him. 

"G-Geralt…" Jaskier's voice broke and Geralt sucked in a hard breath as he saw Jaskier's pupils were fixed, the gold eye fading and returning back to the same cornflower blue as the other. 

"Jask…" Geralt breathed, reaching up and gently cupped his cheek.

"What happened?" Letho asked, coming around behind Geralt and sucked in a sharp breath when seeing Jaskier's eyes.

"It… It's gone… It's gone!" Jaskier said, covering his face with his hands again. Jaskier curled in on himself, his shoulders trembling now, and Geralt frowned and wrapped his arms around Jaskier's body and pulled him close.

"Come on, Jask. Let's take you to your room, hmm?" Geralt spoke softly, and Jaskier turned his body in Geralt's arms and wrapped his arms around Geralt's neck and the wolf hoisted him up in a princess carry. "Letho… could you--?" 

"Don’t worry. I'll bring up a plate for both of you." Letho cut him off and Geralt nodded his appreciation before turning on his heel and retreated down the halls. Jaskier didn’t say anything the entire walk to his room, Geralt's hold never loosening, not even when they reached the bard's room and Geralt moved to set him on the bed, Geralt just sat down on the bed with Jaskier still held tight to the bard. 

"Why… Why is it gone?" Jaskier asked after a year-long silence. "It… It shouldn't be gone… The pain of what happened… They… It wouldn't have been temporary… would it?" Jaskier asked and Geralt frowned. 

"I don’t know, Jask." Geralt said, keeping his arms tight around Jaskier. 

"I... I could finally see. I could see Vesemir, my dad… I could finally see you…" Jaskier's voice broke and Geralt could feel his shoulder start to get wet. 

"Me?" Geralt asked, tilting his head to look at Jaskier. 

"I… I always wanted to see you. To know what you really looked like." Jaskier let out a wet laugh. "You always made everything so bright, even when everything remained black. You looked exactly how I thought you would, maybe with longer hair…" Jaskier said and Geralt felt his chest constrict and held Jaskier tighter to him. "I didn't… I didn't expect it to go away… Now… Now it's all gone." Jaskier sobbed out and Geralt turned his face to press his lips against Jaskier's hair. 

"Shhh, we'll figure it out, Jask. We always do." Geralt said softly, continuing to hold the-- his bard close. 

"We?" Jaskier asked, lifting his head and looked in the direction of Geralt's voice and the wolf smiled, even if Jaskier couldn’t' see it. 

"Yes, Jask. We. I will be here with you, helping you figure this out, just like you've always helped me." Geralt placed his forehead against Jaskier's, the bard's breath hitching. "I'm sorry. For everything, I've ever done. For not appreciating what you've done for Witcher's, for me. Everything you've ever done for me, for Roach even, you've looked after me with no regard for your own safety." Geralt spoke quietly, staring into Jaskier's unseeing eyes. "Even trying to protect me from Yen." Jaskier's body stiffened and Geralt held him tight even as the bard tried to get away. "I never should have made that wish. I should have done what I wanted to do and throw you over my shoulder and leave that manor behind us." Geralt said and Jaskier laughed weakly.

"No, you don't," Jaskier said, more tears gathering in his eyes.

"But I do." Geralt insisted. "I wish I never went into that manor and made that last wish the way I did. I wished I'd realized how I felt sooner, avoided all of this, helped you properly." Geralt said and Jaskier's lips wobbled. "Let me show you that I mean it. Let me prove to you how much you mean to me, how you always meant to me." Geralt pleaded, his arms holding Jaskier tight to his body. "Let me prove to you what I should have years ago." Geralt added and Jaskier could do nothing more than nod.

Tears rolled down his face as Geralt brought one of his hands up and gently cupped Jaskier's cheek, pressing their foreheads together more firmly. Jaskier let out a weak sob, gripping tightly to Geralt's shoulders, and Geralt simply smiled while Jaskier pressed his face into the witcher's neck and sobbed, Geralt's hand idly rubbing across his back to soothe him. 

That's how Letho found them. Jaskier had cried himself to sleep, pressed close to Geralt's neck and fingers still gripping tight to the wolf's shirt. Letho gave them a look, brow raised, and Geralt just smiled weakly and watched as Letho brought plates of food into the room and set them down. 

"We'll think of something for him," Letho said quietly and Geralt nodded. "It's soup, easily warmed up for when he wakes," Letho added, setting down the plates to show there were a bowl and a few slices of bread and a small handful of fruit. Geralt nodded some, whispering a quiet thank you, and Letho gently brushed his fingers through Jaskier's hair before leaving the two of them in peace and left the room. 

Geralt moved carefully, making sure not to wake Jaskier, and settled down on the mattress, holding the bard closely still and the bard cuddled in impossibly closer still when they were settled on the bed properly and Geralt couldn’t' help but smile and tucked his nose into Jaskier's hair, breathing in the bard's scent, and was soon lulled into a light slumber while being surrounded by the scent of the bard. His bard. His best friend. His only friend. His… 

Geralt pressed himself closer to Jaskier, smiling in his sleep.


	9. .

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yennefer appears!!

Jaskier wasn't himself the following day, or the next, staring off into nothing. Geralt always stopping whatever it was he was doing to help him, even if he didn’t need it. Letho couldn't even find it in himself to discipline his son, having taught him how to exist without his sight but to gain it only to have it vanish again? Letho watched as his son slowly turned into a shell of himself, not knowing how to fix it. 

One afternoon, while Jaskier sat off to the side while the Witcher's trained, the bard's head tilted ever so slightly to the side and he made a clicking noise, catching Letho's attention. The Viper held up his hand to pause Eskel from attacking again and stared up at his son.

"Julian?" Letho asked and now everyone's attention was on the bard, Jaskier clicking his tongue against his teeth again. 

"Portal," Jaskier said offhandedly and all the Witcher's suddenly jumped to the side as, true to what was said, a portal suddenly opened in the middle of the courtyard. Jaskier frowning hard as the scent of gooseberries and lilac filled the air. Geralt noticed the change in Jaskier and quickly dropped his practice blade and ran over to the bard, wrapping him up in his arms and holding him close as he started shaking. Jaskier's nerves were shot, he couldn't take much more of anything going wrong and Geralt made a point to make sure Jaskier knew he was there.

"Well, well. Isn't this just lovely," Yennefer's voice came as the portal closed, the sorceress smiling in faux sweetness as she looked about the courtyard. "You're slipping on construction, Vesemir." She said, looking towards the old wolf who rolled his eyes. 

"Excuse my lack of interest in your opinion, Yennefer," Vesemir growled and the sorceress chuckled softly.

"Now, now. No need to be offended." Yennefer said, her gaze drifting to Letho and lifted an elegant brow. "You are new." She purred and Letho snorted, folding his arms over his chest.

"Fuck off, witch," Letho growled. "You will find no warm tidings from me," Letho added and Yennefer blinked in surprise. 

"Well now… What have I ever done to you to deserve that sort of welcoming?" Yennefer asked and Letho rolled his eyes and turned on his heel, not even giving her the decency of an answer and walked over to where Geralt was gently carding his fingers through Jaskier's hair, the bard's face tucked in close against the Witchers chest. "Now there is a new development." Yennefer sassed and Geralt cast a glare in her direction.

"I did not send word to you for you to be a shrew, Yen." Geralt growled, Jaskier tensing in his arms.

"You called for her?" Letho asked the Viper's lips pulled back in a snarl.

"I did, but not for reasons you think. Ciri needs help with controlling her abilities, ones that we can not help her with. I sent word to her before we even arrived here, she took her sweet time." Geralt glared at Yennefer, the woman shrugging indifferently. 

"Excuse you. I had to rest after draining most of my chaos at Sodden Hill." Yennefer said with a roll of her eyes, arms folding across her chest.

"I don't care, Yen." Geralt growled, looking away from her and down at Jaskier as he gently cups the bard's cheek and directs his face towards his and presses their foreheads together, the tension in Jaskier's body bleeding out by a minuscule, and Yennefer's brow lifted.

"You don't… What the hell, Geralt?" Yennefer scowled, walking across the courtyard, throwing her hand in the air. "You ask me to come to this broken down, wilting away fortress to train your child surprise and ignore me in favour of coddling your bard?!" Yennefer asked angrily, coming around as she ignored Letho's growling at her and stared at Geralt. "You could at least give me a proper greeting!" Yennefer yelled and Geralt sighed, pulling away from Jaskier to look at her.

"Hello, Yennefer. Lovely to see you, as always. Vesemir will introduce you properly to Ciri, right now I need to get Jaskier inside." Geralt said, looking back at the bard and gently rubbed his hands across his arms. "We'll find you something to eat, hmm?" Geralt said and Jaskier nodded stupidly Yennefer's brow pinching.

"What happened to him?" She asked and Jaskier went stiff, Geralt's lips pulling back in a snarl as he looked at Yennefer. 

"It's okay, Geralt," Jaskier said, reaching out to place his hand on Geralt's chest but missing it by a mile and the bard sighed. Geralt quickly took his hand and placed it on his chest, folding his hands over Jaskier's.

"He can't see?" Yennefer asked, her brow pinching as she looked at Jaskier's face then to Geralt, her eyes eventually landing on Letho as the Viper spoke up.

"Julian has always been blind," Letho said. "He helped Ciri get out when Cintra was attacked and was captured by Nilfguard." He added, looking to Yennefer with a sad expression. "They experimented on him, some stupid logic about if they gave him sight they could somehow see his memories." Yennefer scoffed at that and Letho nodded. "It wore off, and now…" Letho trailed off, looking back at Jaskier who now had his head resting on Geralt's shoulder.

"That…" Yennefer frowned, looking at Jaskier and slowly approached. "May I?" She asked Geralt and held her hands out to Jaskier. The Witcher hesitated for a second before pulling back ever so slightly, keeping his hand in Jaskier's, while Yennefer stood in front of the bard now and gently cupped his jaw in her hands. 

Jaskier flinched ever so slightly and Yennefer didn't comment, keeping her hands cupped across his jaw and closed her eyes, the Witcher's medallions all vibrating as she examined Jaskier with her Chaos. Her brow pinched, then arched, then returned to normal and she pulled her hands away, opening her eyes to look at Jaskier and make a thought full noise.

"Hmmm." Yennefer smiled gently, reaching up to run her fingers across Jaskier's hair. The bard made a noise and glared at where he thought she was, barely on mark, and Geralt stepped closer to him again so that the bard could feel him near. "Witcher's blood?" Yennefer asked, a brow lifting as she looked to Geralt.

"He's my son," Letho said and Yennefer twisted at the waist to look at the Viper properly, giving him a once over.

"Witchers are sterile. Unless Viper's figured out something they aren't sharing with the rest?" She asked, looking towards Geralt who shook his head.

"No. His mother is elven, she was mixing potions and the like, I saved her life, she asked a favour of me. I drank a potion, bedded her, and later when I was in the area she introduced me to Julian." Letho gave the cliff notes of the even and Yennefer made a thoughtful noise, looking back to Jaskier.

"Well, there isn't anything truly physically wrong with him, other than the blindness of course." Yennefer said, folding her arms over her chest. "Did he have sight before?" Yennefer asked, looking back to Letho.

"Yes. Till his sixth summer." Letho said, his eyes falling to Jaskier who was pressed tight against Geralt now.

"Did he go through any changes?" Yennefer asked, her head tilting.

"The night of his sixth name day, he was in a great amount of pain, much like the boys undergoing the trials," Letho said and Yennefer made a noise, looking at Jaskier again.

"I see. Well, that process was never completed." Yennefer said, rubbing a hand over her hair. 

"What do you mean "never completed"?" Geralt asked.

"I mean that it stopped somewhere in the middle. That's why he lost his sight, his eyes were in the middle of their shift when everything came to a full stop." Yennefer said, tapping an elegant finger against her cheek. "You said he was given things by Nilfguard when he was taken?" Yennefer looked back at Letho once again, the Viper nodding. "Hmmm, perhaps… They may have stumbled on something that acted like a bridge, connecting everything to finally complete, but because of his Witcher blood, he healed himself and is now back to how it was before." Yennefer said offhandedly and Jaskier frowned.

"So… I'm blind again. Permanently." Jaskier's voice was weak, dead, and Yennefer's eyes widened in surprise at the sound, quickly shaking her head. 

"None sense." Yennefer took Jaskier's hand, the one not being held by Geralt, and gave its gentle squeeze. "Let me look into some things, but if my hunch is correct, all you need is a little nudge to push your mutagens to their finality." Yennefer said and Jaskier let out a low wounded noise. 

"It's going to hurt, isn't it." It wasn't really a question, his grip tightening on both Geralt's and Yennefer's hand. 

"Sorry, bard, but yeah." Yennefer said sympathetically but then a slow grin spread across her lips. "At least this time you'll have your dearest White Wolf to help you through it all." Yennefer said, her voice alight with tease and a surprised chuckle left Jaskier.

"Yen…" Geralt started but Yennefer lifted a hand and silenced the Witcher. 

"None of that. It took you long enough to pull your head from your ass, Geralt." Yennefer said with a smile and Jaskier continued to chuckle, leaning into Geralt's side as the Witcher growled quietly. "Oh stop it. You finally accept your love of the bard, like you, should have a long time ago, don't go growling at me." Yennefer said and Geralt scoffed quietly, pulling Jaskier closer to him when the bard jumped to his feet. 

"Can I go back to my room now?" Jaskier asked making everyone frown and Geralt nodded slowly.

"Of course, Jask." Geralt said quietly and looped an arm around the bard's waist. He gave Yennefer a meaningful look and the sorceress nodded and turned her attention to Letho, the two of them striking up a conversation on what their next steps will be. 

Geralt walked slowly with Jaskier, the bards face pointed at the floor as they moved, his hand never leaving his waist. When they reached Jaskier's room, the bard kept a firm grip on Geralt's arm to keep the Witcher from leaving and Geralt sat down on the bed with him, frowning ever so slightly and rubbed a hand across his back. They sat in silence for a long time, Geralt wondering if Jaskier would ever talk again that day, but he did, startling Geralt.

"Do you think she's telling the truth?" Jaskier asks Geralt's brow lifting.

"Yennefer?" Geralt asks, Jaskier nods. "About your eyes." Another nod. "Why would she lie?" Jaskier shrugged. "Hmmm. You are still worried." Geralt said and Jaskier didn't move, his breathing stopping for two seconds before resuming like normal. "Jask." Geralt spoke softly, pressing two fingers to the bottom of Jaskier's chin and tilted his head up. Even though the bard couldn't see, he stared up into Geralt's eyes and the Witcher smiled gently as his fingers slide across his jaw and cups the back of Jaskier's head. "I am yours, Jaskier. Always will be. You," Geralt leant forward, his lips barely a breath away from Jaskier's. "Make my world bright." 

Jaskier's breath caught in his throat and Geralt pressed forward, brushing their lips together gently, giving Jaskier a chance to pull away. He didn't. Jaskier's hands slowly slid across Geralt's arms and up around the Witcher's neck, silent tears slipping down his cheeks as he pressed closer to Geralt. The Witcher's arms wrapping around his bard's waist and holding him close as the kiss deepened, their lips dancing together with open mouths but still no tongue, teasing each other, enjoying the new touch of their lips together. 

After what felt like an eternity, Geralt reluctantly pulled back and chuckled when Jaskier let out a weak whimper, his hands gripping at the Witcher's shoulders as he tried to pull him in again for more kisses. "Soon, Jask. When you have your sight back." Geralt said softly, smiling still despite the wounded noise that left Jaskier's throat. The bard didn't believe it was coming back, but Geralt had faith, he had to. Yennefer would find a solution. He knew she would. 

Geralt stayed with Jaskier, refusing to leave. The other wolves coming by one by one to check in on them, Ciri coming in with Letho and the two sat down with Jaskier and Geralt, having brought food with them. They had all settled into a comfortable silence, Letho only filling them in that Yennefer was now nose deep in books from the library. 

She would find the answer. Geralt knew she would. She had too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See!?!? I can make her nice!!


	10. .

It took Yennefer much longer than she expected to find what she was looking for. More's the pity for what the humans had done to the Witcher schools, destroying their documents, their formulas, trying to eradicate everything that they are. Yennefer had to make things up as she went, filling in the gaps, asking as many questions as she could think of when Letho or Vesemir had wandered into the library with food or to check on her progress. 

It took her weeks. Weeks of reading, planning, note-taking and millions of questions of every Witcher who wandered into her path. Geralt grew anxious, every passing day his bard drew more and more into himself, trying to cope with not having his sight anymore. Even though he had it for such a short time, it was everything to him, to be able to see his father again to see Vesemir. To see Geralt. 

Jaskier sat in his room, staring out the window even though he couldn’t see, remembering when he saw Geralt. Chained and bound in the Nilfguards prison, waiting for them to realize they would get nothing from him, the door bursting open and the worry that filled his father's eyes. The mane of white just over his shoulder, the agitation and annoyance clear across Geralt's face, but there was also a sadness in his eyes, one Jaskier wouldn't believe was there if he had not seen it himself. Watching as Eskel tended his nose days after when his father punched him hard enough to break the bone. 

The door to his room opening made his head tilt toward it but he did not move otherwise, the light but heavy steps crossing the floor making him smile weakly. 

"Hello, Geralt." Jaskier said quietly and the steps paused then continued.

"How'd you know it's me?" Geralt asked, a light touch of humour in his voice and Jaskier turned towards his voice. 

"I travelled with you for over twenty years, my dear wolf, you'd think I wouldn't know your steps?" Jaskier said and Geralt's brow lifted. "That and you did always have a taste for crappy leather boots. They muffle your steps but do nothing to hide the weight you carry." Jaskier said and Geralt let out an amused huff, smirking as he approached Jaskier completely and wrapped his arms around the bard's shoulders and held him close. 

"Smartass now, hmm?" Geralt teased, laying a kiss to Jaskier's hair and the bard laughed weakly. 

"You love it." Jaskier replied and Geralt smiled into his hair. 

"Hmmm. Simply love the man they come from." Geralt said and Jaskier buried his face against Geralt's clothed chest, making Geralt smile even more. Jaskier's head pulled back some, his head tilting to the door and Geralt was about to ask him what was wrong but then the sound of heels clicking hurriedly towards them made Geralt turn and look to the door. Yennefer soon appeared, dishevelled looking as much dishevelled looking as she could be but a wide smile splayed across her lips. "Yen?" Geralt asked curiously, Jaskier's head tilting. 

"I think I figured it out!" Yennefer said triumphantly, walking further into the room and holding out a vial towards the two of them before setting it down on the table. "If I have done my reading properly, the ingredients measured out correctly, and after asking you and the others, I--"

"The point, Yen." Geralt growled with a roll of his eyes, making Jaskier chuckle softly and Yennefer puff her cheeks.

"The _point_ , Geralt, is that I believe I have the correct mixture to complete Jaskier's mutations." Yennefer said grabbing the vial again and waggling it in front of Geralt's face and Jaskier stands up excitedly, staring towards her voice.

"Truly?!" Jaskier asked excitedly, holding tightly to Geralt's arm. The Witcher frowned ever so slightly, looking to the bard, he did not wish to dampen the man's excitement but he also didn't want him to only be left with failure should it not work. 

"Here." Yennefer said, walking closer and popping the top open, holding it out to the pair. "You must have smelt it before you were forced to drink. Does this smell similar?" Yennefer asked and Jaskier leaned forward, pausing when he leaned forward but wasn't anywhere close and Yennefer moved the opening under his nose. Jaskier reeled back, covering his nose and hiding behind Geralt as a distressed whimper escaped his throat. Geralt quickly spun around and wrapped him in his arms, looking back to Yennefer.

"What the fuck, Yen!?" He snarled, watching as Yennefer hurriedly corked the vial again and pulled it away. 

"It's not me. The smell is similar to what they forced on him, he's having a memory." Yennefer said and Geralt looked back at Jaskier, the bard now shaking in Geralt's arms and Geralt pressed soft kisses into his hair. 

"It's alright, Jask. You're alright." Geralt spoke gently, rubbing the bard's arms. "We don't have to do this now. We can wait." Geralt said but Jaskier shook his head hard, gripping Geralt's shirt.

"No! I want to. I have too." Jaskier whimpered and turned his head when he heard Yennefer's sharp intake of air and he licked his lips. "I want to get this over with. If I have to be blind for the rest of my days, I want to have the answer now." Jaskier said weakly and extended his hand past Geralt's arm. "Please." 

Geralt looked over at Yennefer, the sorceress looking a little worried but Geralt gave her a small nod and she reluctantly pressed the vial into Jaskier's waiting hand. Jaskier pulled the vial to him, frowning as he stared down unseeingly at it, his fingers shaking as he played with the stopper. 

"Jask." Geralt spoke gently, running his fingers through the bard's hair. "Let me." He said, taking the vial. "Hold your breath, just like that. Tip your head back, good." Geralt kept a hand on the back of Jaskier's head, the bard's eyes slipping closed. "Keep holding your breath. Now open, good. Let it slide down, don't taste." Geralt spoke him through the whole thing, making sure that Jaskier knew he was with Geralt, that he was safe, that he wasn't in that god's forsaken room. Jaskier let the fowl liquid slide down his throat, swallowing every drop and only made a face once the vial was pulled away and the after taste lingered on his tongue. Geralt chuckled softly and grabbed a berry from a plate of food that Letho had brought up a couple of hours before and pressed it to the bard's lips, squishing it down so that the juices exploded over his taste-buds and Jaskier hummed in approval.

"How long before we know if it's working?" Geralt asked, looking over his shoulder at Yennefer and the sorceress shook her head, frowning. 

"That I do not know." Yennefer said and Geralt frowned, looking back to Jaskier who simply smiled. 

"Guess we just… go about our day, hmm?" Jaskier asked and Geralt let out a weak sigh before nodding.

"Yes. I suppose." Geralt said with another sigh and looped his arm around Jaskier's waist, the three of them leaving the room and walking down the halls to find everyone else. 

The others were found in the library, cleaning up after Yennefer's mess of books and papers strewn about, Vesemir cleaning up the mixing components she had used, Jaskier listened to them all as they moved about, cleaning tightly to Geralt's arm as they walked. A dull pain slowly growing behind his eyes. 

"Little snake." Letho's voice reached his ears and Jaskier smiled as his father came over and gently cupped his face, gently rubbing his thumb across his cheek. "It's good to see you out. I was getting worried." Letho breathed and Jaskier only smiled, leaning into the touch. 

"I'm alright… Drank Yennefer's potion." Jaskier said and Letho sucked in a harsh breath. "If I am to be blind forever, I want to know now. There was no point in delaying it." Jaskier said with a frown, Letho's thumb rubbing gently across his cheek before pulling back.

"Alright, little snake. You know best, as always." Letho said, teasing his son gently and Jaskier chuckled, scrunching his nose playfully at his father's words. 

"Damn right!" Jaskier announced happily and everyone chuckled. 

Geralt sat Jaskier down on a chair, Ciri running over and tucking herself against his side, and went with Yennefer to help the others in their task of cleaning up the mess she had created. Ciri spoke a mile a minute, telling Jaskier about how she helped Yennefer, about the training she had been doing with the sorceress when she took a break, Jaskier smiling as he listened as the ache behind his eyes got worse. They all had the library almost completely back to its proper order when Ciri's voice rung out.

"Jaskier!" She was on her feet and leaning over the bard who had slumped forward, pressing a hand to his eyes and breathing hard. Geralt dropped the books in his hands, risking later scolding from Vesemir, and ran over to Jaskier just in time to catch him as he fell from the chair, his face almost meeting the floor.

"It's okay, you’re okay." Geralt spoke gently, rubbing his hand across Jaskier's shoulders and back, the bard pressing hard into him as he grips onto Geralt's thigh.

"The fuck?!" Lambert asked from somewhere in the room and Letho smacked him over the back of the head. "Ow!" Lambert squeaked and Geralt chuckled quietly, continuing to rub Jaskier's shoulders.

"Geralt?" Ciri's voice was small, scared, and the Witcher smiled at her.

"It's okay, Ciri. It's supposed to hurt. I'll take him up to his room and we can wait it out there. Why don't you go to the kitchen and fetch some fruits and bread, hmm?" Geralt asked and Ciri nodded quickly, running over to Yennefer and asking for the sorceress' help while Geralt slowly got Jaskier to his feet. The bard gagged, hunching over and held tightly to Geralt's arms as he tried to get his bearing. "Shhh, it's alright." Geralt spoke softly and Jaskier leaned harder into him. "Can you handle me picking you up?" Geralt asked and Jaskier nodded weakly, the Witcher stooping down and putting his hand behind Jaskier's knees and wraps his other arm around Jaskier's shoulders and swoops the bard into his arms. 

Jaskier let out a weak whimper and hugged tightly to Geralt, his brow pinched and eyes shut so tight it looked like it hurt, and Geralt walked as steady as he could to Jaskier's room. Careful of jostling the bard, Geralt put him down on his bed and knelt next to it while pulling Jaskier's hands into his. The bard smiled weakly, squeezing his hand as a fresh wave of pain washed over him and he curled up into a fetal position. 

Geralt looked away only briefly to see Yennefer and Ciri coming in with a bowl and plate, the bowl filled to the brim with various berries while the plate had different bread cuts on it. Geralt smiled in gratitude before looking back at Jaskier as the bard whimpered in pain, covering his eyes with his free hand and tightened his grip on Geralt's hand.

"It's alright, Jask. You're okay." Geralt spoke gently, leaning over the bed ever so slightly and pressed his lips to the bard's hair. Jaskier leaned into the touch, breathing hard, but soon pulled back and covered his mouth with both hands and Geralt's eyes widened. "Yen, a bucket!" Geralt called out and reached back, the rim of one being shoved into his waiting grip and placed under Jaskier just in time for the bard to roll onto his side and empty what little was in his stomach.

"Come on Ciri, let's give Jaskier his privacy, hmm?" Yennefer said, draping an arm over the young girl's shoulders and gently leading her towards the door. 

"But…" Ciri looked over her shoulder towards Geralt and Jaskier and the Witcher gave her a reassuring smile and nod and Ciri reluctantly left with Yennefer, leaving the two in the room alone. Geralt watched as Jaskier shivered, curled in on himself, with his hands pressed to his eyes and the wolf frowned before crawling into the bed with him and pillowing the bards head on his thigh and gently brushed the sweat-slick hair from his brow.

"Jask…" Geralt spoke softly, continuing to brush the hair back, and Jaskier's head tilted back to show he was listening. "I… This might get worse before it gets better." Jaskier let out a weak whimpering noise. "I have an idea, it's dangerous, but I will be with you the whole time…" Jaskier's head tilted. "I can use a different sign, Somne, it will help you sleep through all of this." Geralt spoke softly, continuing to run his fingers through Jaskier's damp hair.

"D-dangerous…?" Jaskier croaked and Geralt smiled softly.

"Dangerous because you may choke on vomit or something else to go wrong, but I will be here to watch you. Make sure everything is fine, and if it gets too dangerous I will wake you up." Geralt said and Jaskier let out a quiet noise. Geralt waited, watching as Jaskier's face scrunched up, his body twisting, his throat tensing as it worked trying to keep the acid from his stomach down.

Jaskier finally gave a sharp nod, pressing back into Geralt and the Witcher let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Bending down, he quickly took Jaskier's lips with his in a sweet, gentle, kiss before leaning back up and waving his hand over Jaskier's head, his fingers moving in with a sign and Jaskier's body soon went loose and limp with slumber. Geralt brushed his fingers over Jaskier's face, memorizing every little detail of his face.

~~~~

When Jaskier came to himself, the first thing he realized was that his chest was naked, the cold air making his skin prickle. The second thing he realized was the warm cloth being dragged across his arm. He groaned quietly, turning his head to the side, licking his lips.

"Welcome back, bard." Yennefer's voice chirped and Jaskier's brow pinched. Fucking perfect. "You had us scared for a little bit there. You started having these seizures, Letho was worried you would choke on your tongue. He's not allowed in here anymore." Yennefer chuckled softly, continuing to run the cloth over his skin. Jaskier's brow pinched harder, keeping his eyes closed. He wanted desperately to ask where Geralt was, but the ball of anxiety and dread-filled in his answer for him especially if Yennefer was in here. The cloth was removed and dropped into water just off to the side and Yennefer gently clasped her hands around his, giving a reassuring squeeze. "Jaskier. I need to you try opening your eyes." Yennefer said gently, the bed dipping as she sat down on the mattress, her hands still clasped around his. 

Jaskier was terrified, his breathing slowly picking up as he shut them tighter, his lips twisting into a deep frown. Yennefer hushed him gently, releasing one of her hands and reached up to gently rub the pad of her thumb across his brow, the movement feeling familial, and Jaskier's brow slowly smoothed out under her touch and very slowly Jaskier opened his eyes.

He had to blink a couple of times, the sting of opening his eyes after however long they were closed making keeping them open difficult, and Jaskier frowned still. He closed his eyes, waited a moment, then tried again. Blinking quickly again, squeezing the water from his eyes, he stared up at the dark canopy of the bed, his brow pinching. It was dark, still dark, nothing, but then something orange flicked to his left and his head snapped towards it, his breath catching in his throat. 

He stared at the candle flickering on top of a table, innocently waving about at every subtle breeze. His eyes then snapped forward, towards Yennefer and his eyes widened as he stared at the woman. Her raven hair curled and framing a beautiful face, her pink lips pulled into a gentle smile, violet eyes staring at him questioningly. Jaskier felt the tears welling up in his eyes.

"No wonder he picked you…" Jaskier whispered quietly, his voice rough from disuse. It was Yennefer's turn to have a pinched brow, about to ask him what he meant by that but was cut off as the door of the room opened. 

"Yen, I can't find that fucking doublet." Geralt's voice snarled, his eyes stuck on the two differently coloured doublets in his hands. "I have the shit green and that horrendous Piss yellow. I can't find the blue one that matched his eyes!" Geralt growled, throwing the doublets onto a chair just off to the side before finally looking towards him. His eyes grew comically wide as he sees Jaskier staring at him.

"Are you insulting my taste in clothing, Witcher?" Jaskier asked and Geralt had to stumble back a step before rushing into the room and all but shoved Yennefer off the bed and gathered the bard into his arms. Jaskier squeaked when Geralt held him borderline too tight and Yennefer slapped his shoulder.

"Let him go, Geralt! Heaven's sake. He just woke, he doesn't need you smothering him." Yennefer grouched and Geralt bared his teeth at her even as he loosened his grip on Jaskier and settled the bard back down in bed. Geralt frowned when he looked back and saw that Jaskier had tears rolling down his face, his brow pinching.

"Did it not work?" Geralt asked gently, reaching over to wipe away Jaskier's tears and the bard shook his head.

"No... No. It worked." Jaskier said weakly, blinking away his tears and swatting away Geralt's hand and rolled over so his back was to them. 

"Jask?" Geralt asked weakly and the bard curled in on himself. "What the fuck did you do, Yen?" Geralt snarled, the sorceress scoffed.

"He took one look at me, said "no wonder he picked you." and then you came bursting in insulting his clothing." Yennefer sighed. "You need to talk to him, Geralt. He thinks…" Yennefer's eyes darted towards Jaskier, frowning. "He thinks you still picked me." Yennefer said and moved towards the door, Geralt sucking in a hard breath. "I will look for the doublet." She said with finality and left the room, closing the door behind her to give them some privacy. 

Geralt looked back at Jaskier, frowning hard, and reached over to place his hand on his shoulder. Jaskier flinched at the touch, unable to keep the quiet sob locked behind his lips and Geralt frowned even more and went straight for a different option. He crawled onto the bed and swung himself around Jaskier's body, dropping down on his side so that he was face to face with his bard, staring at him. 

"Jaskier." Geralt said quietly, the bard's eyes were shut tightly. "Jask. Yennefer and I are not like that. Not anymore, not ever." Geralt said, reaching up with his hands and gently took Jaskier's face between them.

"B-but… S-she's gorgeous!" Jaskier wailed, tears slipping past his closed eyelids. "Y-you have every right to want to be with her. She's fuckin' perfect." Jaskier sobbed out and Geralt smiled sadly, trying to wipe the tears away. 

"She's not you, Jask." Geralt said, leaning forward and pressing his lips to Jaskier's forehead. The bard sobbed, ugly and broken, wrapping his arms around Geralt's torso and clung tightly to him all the while Geralt placed kiss after gentle kiss to his hair and forehead. 

"Sorry, 'M sorry." Jaskier sobbed out and Geralt shook his head. "S-said I'd let you prove… Jumped to conclusions. 'M sorry." Jaskier hiccupped and Geralt just held him tighter.

"No. I'm sorry. I should have been here when you woke. I wanted to find your doublet, the blue one with the gold trim? So you could feel, ah, pretty when you woke." Geralt said quietly and Jaskier let out a set laugh. 

"I threw that one away…" Jaskier said and Geralt sucked in a hard breath.

"Why?" Geralt asked, his fingers digging into Jaskier's hips gently. 

"It… Uhm…" Jaskier stared down, gnawing his lower lip. "It smelled too much like you. A-after the dragon hunt… I threw it away." Geralt felt his chest tighten, his arms circling his bard even more and he pressed his face into Jaskier's hair.

"I'm sorry. So sorry, Jask." Geralt said to his hair, refusing to let go of Jaskier even as the bard wiggled a little bit. "Never again. Never again will I do something so foolish." Geralt promised and Jaskier couldn't help the chuckle that left him.

"And if you do?" Jaskier teased, Geralt growled.

"If I do, you can do anything you want to me." Geralt said and Jaskier let out a small keening noise. 

"Anything, anything?" Jaskier asked.

"Anything, anything." Geralt echoed and Jaskier smirked, tilting his head up and stared up at the Witcher the best he could.

"Do I get to cash that in now then?" Jaskier asked with a teasing tone and Geralt's brow lifted.

"What did I do?" Geralt asked and Jaskier tilted his head to the side.

"You left me to wake with Yennefer in the room, alone." Jaskier said and Geralt grunted, pondering, before letting out a small chuckle.

"I suppose I deserve it then." Geralt conceded, easily moving when Jaskier moved his hands around and pushed on Geralt's shoulder, making the Witcher turn and lay on his back. Jaskier just smiled as he crawled on top of him, draping his arms across Geralt's shoulders and dips down to have their lips meet. Geralt sighed into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Jaskier's shoulders and Geralt brought his hands up to rest on Jaskier's waist and gently squeezed. 

"Mmmm, whatever shall I do with you, my dearest Witcher?" Jaskier purred against his lips and Geralt chuckled softly, staring up at Jaskier. 

"Whatever you desire, my bard." Geralt whispered. "I am yours, always yours." Geralt said, placing a gentle kiss against Jaskier's lips and the bard let out a low keening sound. Pushing his fingers into Geralt's hair and gripping the silver strands tightly, making the Witcher groan and Jaskier grin, giving his hips a playful roll and Geralt hissed when he felt the semi-hardness of Jaskier's cock rubbing against his. 

"How do you have the energy for that?" Geralt asked breathlessly, tilting his head back so he could stare up at Jaskier. A small smile on his lips, as he watched the barely visible outline of his bard in the dark hours of the morning, a small laugh leaving the man and Jaskier gently tugged on his hair and making Geralt groan again, his own cock twitching with interest. 

"Perhaps not… fully, however…" Jaskier said, smiling widely and rolling his hips again, Geralt moaned and bucked his hips into Jaskier's, his grip tightening on his bard's hips and pulling him down to create more friction. Both men moaned, Jaskier's head tilting to the side and Geralt took full advantage, diving in and laving his tongue along Jaskier's neck, the bard gasping and pressing his now fully hard cock against Geralt's. 

"You are too dressed, my Witcher." Jaskier panted and Geralt just hummed in response, refusing to move from his position at Jaskier's neck, his hands groping and massaging at his bard's perfect ass and making the bard whimper. Geralt chuckled, low in his throat and nipped at Jaskier's neck, making the man whimper with need. He released his grip with one hand and slipped it between them, unlacing his trousers and pulling out his own very hard cock and Jaskier's hips stuttered as he felt it brush against his. The Witcher chuckled again, and pulled Jaskier's hips down towards his and placed their cocks together and wrapped one large hand around them both and gave an experimental rub of his hand and they both groaned loudly at the feeling. 

"Fuck. Jask…" Geralt panted against the bard's neck as he started to move his hand faster, the fingers of his other hand digging into the meat of Jaskier's ass and the bard moaned loudly and gripped Geralt's hair tightly and gave a pull. Geralt snarled and bit at Jaskier's neck again, the bard gasping loudly and his hips started to move on their own. Their cocks now rubbing together with Jaskier's thrusts and Geralt's grip on them, they both turned into trembling messes sooner than they would ever admit.

Geralt tilted his head up, running his hand up Jaskier's body and scratching blunt nails along the bard's spine before his fingers pushed into the deep brown strands and pulled Jaskier's face to his and stole the bard's lips in a demanding kiss, nipping at each other's lips while their tongues fought for dominance, Jaskier's hips moving faster. They soon were both spilling into Geralt's hand, moaning loudly as their cocks pulsed and spilled across their bellies. 

Jaskier fell limp on Geralt's chest, the both of them gulping down air. They stayed like that for a few minutes, Jaskier's face scrunching up when he shifted and felt their mess sticking to his skin.

"Ew," Jaskier complained and Geralt laughed.

"Only you can ruin an afterglow." Geralt joked and Jaskier snorted, rolling his eyes.

"It feels gross, excuse me." Jaskier said with a smirk and Geralt could only laugh, watching as Jaskier rolled to the edge of the bed and slowly stood, the blanket falling away and showing off every inch of the bards naked body. Geralt drank in the view. 

Jaskier slowly walked over to the basin and grabbed the cloth that was used on him not that long ago and wiped off the mess from his stomach before walking over to Geralt and tsking at the Witcher.

"Couldn’t' of removed your shirt?" Jaskier asked and Geralt looked down at the mess on the fabric, shrugging and pulled it off with a grin. 

"Easier cleanup." Geralt said and Jaskier rolled his eyes.

"And that?" Jaskier asked, his gaze aimed towards Geralt's still exposed cock.

"Would you rather I put it away?" Geralt asked, completely unashamed, and Jaskier laughed. He dropped the cloth on the floor and crawled back into bed with Geralt, laying across the Witcher's chest again, and Geralt wrapped his arms around his bard. "Sleep. It is still early." Geralt said and Jaskier could only nod with a yawn. 

They slept for four more hours, Geralt waking up before Jaskier and taking in the bards appearance. He smiled, rubbing a hand across Jaskier's hair and he paused when his hand brushed across the bard's ear. He tilted his head and blinked once, then again, lips parting in awe as he stared at the tip, pointed just enough to show he wasn't completely human. Jaskier began to stir, grumping as he lifted his head and blinked while he looked around the room, squinting when his gaze settled on Geralt.

"Oh… That wasn't a dream?" Jaskier asked stupidly and Geralt laughed loudly.

"No, Jask. It wasn't a dream." Geralt confirmed and Jaskier smiled, nuzzling into his Witcher's neck and hugging him tightly. They stayed like that until the door burst open, Letho barging in. 

"You were awake and you didn't think to tell me!?" Letho asked angrily and Jaskier sat up and looked over towards his father. 

"Good morning," Jaskier said, smiling dopily at his dad and Letho couldn't find it in himself to be angry anymore.

"good morning, Little Snake," Letho said softly. "Yennefer told me to bring these to you," Letho added and threw a set of clothing on the bed.

"Oh!" Jaskier smiled and picked up the blue doublet, admiring it. Geralt smiled as he watched his bard, he will have to thank Yennefer later for the new article. 

"Had fun when he first woke, hmm wolf?" Geralt looked at Letho, the Viper's nose wrinkled and Jaskier blushed.

"Right… yes… smells," Jaskier said stupidly and chuckled as he shimmied on the trousers under the blanket while Geralt made himself decent and they both stood. Letho peered down at Jaskier's eyes, his brow lifted some, and reached out to touch his jaw and tilt his head up.

"Now that… That is impressive." Letho breathed and Geralt tilted his head, peeking around at Jaskier's eyes and his own widened. Jaskier's eyes still held their natural cornflower blue but now melted into a bright vibrant gold halfway from the pupil down. Geralt felt his cock twitch with interest and both Letho and Jaskier gave him a look and Geralt just shrugged and smiled. "Please don’t let me stumble across you two on one of your sexcapades… I don’t believe I will survive seeing my son like that."

Geralt and Jaskier looked at one another for a moment, shocked, then started laughing while Letho groaned loudly. 

The world was bright. So vibrantly filled with golden eyes and silver hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm done!! :D

**Author's Note:**

> Please Comment or give Kudos! :D  
> Comments are life, Kudos are love!


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